Beauty and The Prince
by ReadingRose18
Summary: She was attracted to him but she knew it was wrong so she fought to keep her distance. He knew what the woman meant to him and he would take what belonged to him. No force in the universe would stand in his way of claiming what was his. The predator stalks his prey, seeking, wanting, needing. The thrill of the hunt calls to him and who is he to ignore its sweet song.
1. In The Beginning

**_Author's Note:_** Hey guys! So, this is the first fanfiction I've ever written after reading almost a thousand of them. I've been reading VB fanfics for about six years now and I've decided it's time I test my own skills as a writer and publish yet another Vegeta and Bulma fic in this ridiculously large fandom. Chances are this story won't be seen but hey, it is what it is. I'll try to make the chapters as long as I can manage. All forms of criticism are accepted, just take it easy with the flaming LOL. Keep in mind that at times spelling will be different cause I'm using UK English, not American English.

This story starts immediately after Vegeta yelled at Bulma for interrupting his meditation in the gravity room after the explosion.

This story is rated M for...you can guess why so be warned. Just in case something happens to this story here on FF, I'll be uploading it onto AO3...as soon as I create a profile there under the same pen name. Anyway, without further ado, here's chapter 1. If you are, thank you for taking the time to read this story. Please review!

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN DRAGONBALL, DRAGONBALL Z, DRAGONBALL GT OR DRAGONBALL SUPER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. THEY ARE THE PROPERTY OF AKIRA TORIYAMA AND HIS ASSOCIATES.** **I WISH I COULD SAY I OWN AT LEAST THE PRINCE OF ALL SAIYANS BUT ALAS, IT WAS NOT MEANT TO BE **_*Sad face*. _

**_Chapter 1_**

"Foolish woman." Vegeta grunted under his breath as the monitor turned black, taking the image of Bulma with it. She couldn't seem to mind her own business, no matter how many times he tried to clue her in.

He closed his eyes for a second as a flash of Bulma's slightly wounded visage passed through his thoughts. Bulma tried to hide it before turning the monitor off but he saw it clear as day. His harsh reaction to her smug comment had stung.

_'__Why does it even matter?!,' _he thought to himself,_ 'It's not like I ASKED her to stay while I was unconscious! The mighty Saiyan Prince being coddled like an infant. Ridiculous!' _Even with the mental scolding, there was something in the back of his mind that he couldn't shake. He had a feeling he knew what it was but refused to analyze it any further. He had more important things to worry about.

Deciding that he'd wasted enough time thinking about the woman, he got back up and resumed his meditative katas. There were only three years left before the androids appeared and he needed to ascend before then. He smirked evilly, already envisioning those junkyard runaways trembling before him in all his glory.

_'__Soon, I will reach the Legendary status of Super Saiyan and I will crush those tin cans with my bare hands. And then Kakarot, then your pitiful friends will watch as you bow before your Prince.'_

**_Back in Capsule Corp._**

Bulma couldn't help but stare at the screen long after the transmission had been cut. She always knew that Vegeta was a brute but she truly hadn't expected him to yell at her like that. She'd been expecting, at the very least, a snide comment about her "meddling" but nothing like that. Loathe as she was to admit it, that stung just a little bit.

Bulma Briefs was not a meek woman. You don't become the heir to Capsule Corporations by letting people walk all over you. She could take as good as she could give. But somehow, being scolded by the monkey prince was enough to shake her up some.

"Kami, that man is so rude! Honestly, all I was trying to do was help him try NOT to kill himself again and what does he go and do? He yells at me like I'm some kind of nuisance! The nerve of him! Ugh!", she screeched.

She turned and left the lab in a huff, still slightly miffed about that little encounter. What she wouldn't give to have the same strength as Goku for two minutes just so she could properly kick Vegeta's royal ass! So preoccupied by her angry thoughts, she failed to notice Yamcha in her path, who got a first hand view of her thunderous expression. He didn't even have to guess who was responsible for that face.

As soon as she was close enough, he risked putting his hands on her shoulders, "Hey babe. Where's the fire?"

"Oh hey Yamcha," she muttered. She'd even forgotten he was still on the property. That made her feel slightly guilty. _'I have an amazing boyfriend right in front of me and I'm busy wasting my time thinking about the Prince of Jackasses. That ends right now.'_

Yamcha frowned a little at her response. He was expecting her to snap at him like she usually does when she's mad. What he got in reality was a little disconcerting. "Lemme guess, the Guest of Honour was less than amused by your attempt to help. I still don't get why you're letting him stay here Bulma. That dude's a few cards short of a full deck."

The heiress rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration. "Believe me, sometimes I ask myself the same thing. But since it's in our best interest to keep him on our side for the sake of the world, we have to put up with his royal pain-in-the-ass and help him out for the foreseeable future. Whether we like it or not, fact is we need him. Next to Goku, he's the best chance we've got at defeating the androids. "

Bulma perked up quickly and with the sweet smile reserved for her long-time boyfriend she said, "But enough about him, how about we go and watch a movie or something? I could really use the distraction."

"Sure thing babe," Yamcha replied with a grin of his own. It had been a while since they hung out together as a couple and he missed it. Maybe he could play a movie they'd already watched just so he could have an excuse to hold her, maybe do a little bit more than that.

The young couple smiled as they headed towards the home cinema, holding hands the whole way. Despite the excitement of the ship exploding and Vegeta almost dying, the day just got a little better for the inhabitants of Capsule Corp. Little did they know that in the next three years, changes would be happening within those walls. Changes that nobody could've predicted.


	2. Comprehension

**SEE DISCLAIMER IN FIRST CHAPTER**

**_Chapter 2_**

Vegeta sat cross legged in the middle of the gravity room with his eyes closed, deep in the recesses of his mind. The Prince had healed quickly from his injuries thanks to his superior genetics. But that wasn't what occupied his thoughts at the moment.

Three days. It had been three days since his encounter with the woman. Three days since he last saw her. True to his nature, he continued training at 300 times earth's gravity despite her warnings. After all she was only a human and a weak one at that. What the hell did she know about saiyan anatomy? Absolutely nothing! His stubbornness didn't do him any lick of good since an hour later, he ended up sprawled on the floor, panting heavily with intense pain radiating at his sides and his head. The nail in his metaphorical coffin was when he would occasionally cough up blood. He begrudgingly decided to take it easy until he was back at full strength, for how could he attain Super Saiyan if he was dead.

Of course, his version of 'easy' was shadow training at 100 times earth's gravity. When he was battling against his imaginary foe, the feelings he had when he unconsciously thought of the woman would come up unexpectedly and distract him from his training. To say he found it irritating would be an understatement. Now he sits in present time with his mind open, letting it finally do what it's been nagging him to do.

Vegeta has never been the type of man to express his emotions. He's always preferred to keep them locked away so he could analyze them at a later stage. This was one of those times. During his meditation, he'd thought back to the first time he saw the enigma known as Bulma Briefs.

* * *

On Namek with her short bald 'warrior' friend (Krillin, was it?) making a pathetic attempt to protect her and the dragon ball from him.

* * *

_The short bald one has just made one of the worst mistakes any warrior could make. Never let your guard down. He was so distracted that he didn't even notice Vegeta tailing behind him at a short distance. How pitiful. He watched Baldy land a few feet away with a dragon ball in his possession. It would soon be handed over to Vegeta to take, forcefully or not. He watched as the bald fighter finally realised that he'd been followed. 'Too late Baldy!', Vegeta thought to himself as he landed right in front of the pathetic fighter and a woman cowering in fear standing behind him._

_"__Well the surprises just don't stop do they?", the Prince questioned rhetorically. "I've found a couple of earthlings far from home with no one around to save them. And it appears you have just what I'm looking for. Hand over the dragon ball or die!"_

_A devious smirk spread across his lips as he took in the scent of their fear...and something else. Something...captivating._

_"__Come on don't do anything stupid, just hand it over. And I wouldn't attempt to escape with it either because if you tried something like that", he looked directly at the woman as he said, "the sniveling girl behind you would suffer the consequences." He turned his head in the direction of the sky, sensing Zarbon's approach and said in a deceptively soft tone, "Now hand it over." _

_Though he just threatened to harm the woman, something about her intrigued him. Perhaps it's her odd colouring because he couldn't remember the last time he encountered a female with blue hair, if ever. One thing he was sure about was that the captivating scent he picked up earlier was coming from her. It was doing things to him, waking up urges that he hadn't felt in a while. Fascinating. _

* * *

He wasn't lying to Kakarot's offspring when he said she was gorgeous, because she was. Her cerulean hair and sapphire eyes had attracted him to her and a wave of lust had washed over him at the sight of her. His eyes had quickly skimmed over her quaking figure. Even with her jumpsuit, he could see that she had the type of lush body that most women could only dream of having, soft and curved in all the right places. Everything about her had intrigued him, despite her obvious fear of him.

His observation of her was interrupted as that succubus Zarbon showed up a moment later, flicking his emerald braid over his shoulder. The second she started fawning over the pretty warrior, he pushed his thoughts to the side and turned to face his foe. The stupid woman would figure out soon enough that there was an incredible ugliness under that polished facade.

That was the last time he paid attention to an encounter with her until his 'death' at the Lizard Lords hand. The next time he would see her was after he had been revived by the earth's dragon balls. He wasn't supposed to come back to life with that wish, as she oh-so-gracefully screeched the moment she laid her eyes on him.

* * *

_Vegeta sat on a tree stump, listening to Kakarot's earthling friends go on about how they couldn't understand his decision to stay behind on Namek. He, however, perfectly understood Kakarot's reason for staying behind. Those fools were so preoccupied with their confusion that they'd failed to notice the Prince was sitting right across from them. It was time to make his presence known._

"_I understand Kakarot's blood." Everyone turned to the familiar voice to find none other than the Saiyan Prince right behind them._

_"Vegeta!" The young half saiyan Gohan said in shock, causing a smirk to emerge across the older warriors visage._

_Vegeta chuckled before saying, "Kakarot would never turn down a good fight. It's not his Saiyan nature!" _

_The blue haired woman jumped behind the half saiyan in fear. "Why did you have to come back?! Why didn't the dragon leave out the nasty jerk?!", she screamed._

_"That wasn't very nice." The prince couldn't help but answer sarcastically while standing to his full height. The bumbling woman screeched at the sight before collapsing. What an idiot. _

* * *

Her scent had drifted over to him and lit a fire in his veins. Even after his death and his surprising return to life, her presence managed to affect him. It was unnerving to say the least. So imagine his amazement when, the next time she addressed him, he couldn't detect an ounce of fear in her voice. Instead she behaved amicably towards him, all because of his idea on how to bring that Third Class warrior back to life.

* * *

_Vegeta watched, arms crossed with a bored expression on his face, as the earth born Namekian, the half saiyan child and the woman all mourned the loss of Kakarot after the destruction of Planet Namek. 'What a bunch of morons', rolling his eyes as he quipped to himself internally. Did they really not see there was a simple solution to all of this? He decided to let them know as much._

_"Idiots! Enough of this ridiculous baffle!" The woman looks appalled to be addressed in such a manner, he snickered quietly. "You want Kakarot back so listen. The earth has a check-in station to the spirit realm. Wish him there _then_ wish him back to life." It was as if a giant light bulb suddenly flashed on. The silly woman gasped in realisation, seeing the solidity of his plan, and turned to address him directly. "Man Vegeta, that's a great idea! I'm impressed!" The Prince 'hmphed' at the praise in her tone. He didn't need her approval._

* * *

She opened up her home to him, despite his crimes against those she cares about. She even went so far to call him cute!

* * *

_Vegeta passively listened as the blue haired woman proceeded to make living arrangements for the misplaced Namekian population after coming to the realisation that they'd need somewhere to stay whilst waiting for their dragon balls to become active again. Apparently she has enough room at her dwelling to house over 100 Namekians. He'd have laughed if he wasn't caught so off guard by her next statement._

_"What about you? Hey homeboy!" Vegeta nearly gave himself whiplash from how fast he raised his head hearing that ridiculous nickname. "What? Homeboy?", he muttered. "Yo listen up, you're gonna a place to crash too!" Was she really suggesting what he thought she was?_

_As if. The Prince turned his head with the type of arrogant huff only an aristocrat could manage. That didn't deter Bulma though. "Would you just drop the arrogant tough guy act and just relax? Let it all go. Take a vacation once in a while! Unwind a little and see what life has to offer you. You're actually kinda cute hahaha!"_

_Just when he thought she couldn't get more ridiculous, she goes and says that. "What?! Kinda cute? Bonehead!", he grumbled out. The more she talks the more she proves what an imbecile she is._

* * *

Imagine, the heir to the throne of the most powerful and feared race in the universe being labelled as "cute"! It was absurd!

The time period spent waiting for the restoration of the dragon balls would turn out to be all for nothing after the Namekian dragon announced that his rival was still alive but refused to return to the earth, claiming he'd "come back later". Vegeta had felt that he'd wasted enough time on that mudball planet, playing 'nice' with its inhabitants. He decided to steal the ship parked in the woman's massive yard and search for Kakarot himself to attain the secret to becoming a Super Saiyan.

His search would prove to be fruitless for as much as he looked for the third class warrior, he just couldn't find him. Eventually he had to return to the earth if only to avoid being stranded in the cold regions of space. Failure was not a word in Vegeta's vocabulary yet he couldn't help but feel that he did just that. It left him feeling angrier than usual.

His irritation grew significantly when upon his return, the first person he encountered was the woman's pathetic excuse of a mate Yamchuck or whatever. There was something about the beta male that made him want to blast him back into oblivion, cackling while he did so.

Just as Vegeta was contemplating using the beta as a punching bag to relieve his stress, the wind blew softly towards him, bringing the familiar but (at the time) slightly unwelcome scent of the woman to his nose. It got to him like a punch to the gut, causing his blood to boil hot with barely restrained desire. Images of the luscious siren on her knees with her back arched and her creamy ass in the air, his hand fisted in her soft blue hair as he pounded into her from behind flashed through his mind and suddenly, he wanted to try a more pleasurable form of relief.

But then, true to her nature, she had to go and ruin his lascivious train of thoughts by opening her mouth and insulting him and his lack of personal hygiene. The absolute nerve of this woman!

* * *

_"__Hey guys! What is that awful smell? Oh it's you. When's the last time you had a shower there bud? You need a bath. Please. This way." As she walked away from him, he could only stare at her with his permanent frown on his face. Who the hell did this woman think she was ordering the Prince of all Saiyans around like a commoner? She turned slightly to find him standing where she left him and frowned. "Well what? Do you want me to roll out the red carpet?!"_

_HOW. DARE. SHE!_

_Vegeta growled in annoyance before letting out a huff of air and reluctantly following the exasperating woman to the bathing chambers. Maybe there he could get his rebellious thoughts back in order._

* * *

Of course there was no such luck. Just as he had finished cleaning up and was about to dress (without a drying cloth, no thanks to the woman), he could only stutter in shock at the garments left for him to wear. It must have been some sort of joke, only confirmed by the woman and her cohorts laughing it up at his expense. So he did what he always does to bring order back. He threatened them all with death. That shut them up. All except Bulma of course. That's what he struggled to understand at the time. How was it that this woman with a power level similar to a newborn infant from his home planet could continue to speak to him so familiarly while her more powerful friends cowered in fear. It aggravated him to no end!

To top it all off, Frieza was alive and making his way to the earth. That disgrace Kakarot had failed to defeat the tyrant who had destroyed planet Vegeta, even after the tears the Prince had shamefully shed while pleading with him to destroy Frieza once and for all. After everything that he had endured since returning to Earth that day, Vegeta was ready to step in where Kakarot had failed, tear that lizard apart and bathe in his blood, all the while relishing the sounds of his torment. Only he wouldn't get the chance.

Later he would hear from a young boy (yet another Super Saiyan, but how this was possible was beyond any logical reasoning he could think of), claiming to be from the future announce that in three years Vegeta, the Namek and the rest of the warriors, Kakarot excluded, were going to die at the hands of the androids who turned out to be creations of Dr. Gero, a crazy scientist who Kakarot let live and get away. Honestly, that imbecile didn't even deserve the title of Third Class, he was too damn soft for his own good. After hearing and seeing all he could handle, Vegeta flew back to Capsule Corp. to train for the upcoming battle. He would stop at nothing to attain Super Saiyan and take back his title as the most powerful warrior in the universe.

The combination of his explosive thoughts and reckless abandon with his training resulted in his near death in the gravity chamber after it exploded from him doing too much too soon. A moment later, he could hear the woman calling out for him, fear clearly evident in her voice. Vegeta must have been in a state of delirium because he could've sworn that the fear he heard in her voice was for him. He used the last of his strength to pull himself out of the rubble and his eyes landed on her. After ensuring he was okay she made sure to let him know she was very displeased with him for destroying the ship, almost taking her home with it. That bit of fire he saw in her eyes amused him. But the concern for him shining in her eyes, her soft touch on his overheating skin and the kind smile solely meant for him after he collapsed was what caused all his emotions and tumultuous thoughts to rush over him before he blacked out from the pain.

* * *

A long moment passed before Vegeta opened his eyes after gathering his jumbled thoughts. It was clear to him that Bulma Briefs meant something significant to him judging by the way she's been unknowingly affecting him. The only time he could remember something similar to this happening was when his father explained the concept of mates to him when he was still a young boy.

King Vegeta had told him of when he first met the Prince's mother. He was taken by her beauty, her fire and her intelligence. He knew from the moment he saw her that she was meant for him. Of course being a prideful and arrogant man, the King had tried vehemently to deny these feelings but to no avail. If anything, their eventual coming together was even more passionate than expected. Unfortunately the king's mate died giving birth to Vegeta so he never really knew her.

The likeness of his situation to his father's was all the confirmation he needed. The loud-mouthed, sharp tongued, arrogant, feisty yet beautiful spitfire was his destined mate. Although he couldn't say he was disappointed. Oh just the opposite really. He was actually quite pleased it was her. She could match him tit for tat and she'd be able to hold her own when they verbally sparred. All he needed to do now was confront the woman and see if she reacts to him the same way he does to her.

He stood up from his seated position and headed to the door. As he stepped outside, he noticed that it was dark out and looked up at the newly restored full moon, shining in the night sky. He had spent a lot of time lost in his thoughts but in the end he had formulated a plan. He smirked as he strolled across the yard towards the main house, searching for the woman's ki as he did. It seemed she was still in her lab working.

She would try her damnedest to fight off his attempts to seduce her into leaving her soon-to-be former mate for him, he just knew it. He wouldn't expect anything less from her. Little did she know that the more she ran, the sweeter the hunt would be for him. His heart started beating faster the longer he stared at the orb in the sky, his smirk growing into a predatory grin, his fangs glistening in the moonlight, as primal thoughts whispered to him all the delicious ways he could go about enticing Bulma into being his mate. He could hardly wait.

* * *

**_Author's Note:_** Hey guys. This is the second chapter done and dusted. So as you probably noticed, this chapter was focused on our resident Saiyan Prince, his feelings for Bulma and what they mean. I'll try and keep him as in character as possible cause we all love our standoffish aristocrat. But don't worry, the next chapter will have the upcoming encounter between them. It's definitely gonna be SOMETHING. I'll make an effort to upload every 2 days, at the very least. I just wanna send a quick shout to Beaglinda and Khloe(guest) for leaving reviews. You guys rock! Please RR! Until next time!


	3. Let The Hunt Begin

**_Chapter 3_**

Nightfall had struck in West City. Everything was calm, the crickets were composing their usual evening melody, the stars were shining bright like diamonds against the velvety black sky and the Capsule Corp grounds were still and peaceful.

Well, almost.

"Why isn't this coming together?!" Bulma shouted to herself. "I don't understand how I, Bulma fucking Briefs can't figure out a basic physics equation! Even a monkey could figure this shit out!", She growled out.

Speaking of monkeys….

She couldn't believe that it had been three days since she last saw Vegeta. In the morning, he was already in the gravity room before she woke up and she was already asleep by the time he retired to his room. She didn't even see him when it was breakfast, lunch or dinner time. The only way she knew that he was still alive was hearing the hum of the gravity machine during the day, although sometimes it was off more than it was on. Strange.

_'You'd think I would see him after seventy two hours. Smell him even. And yet he's as silent as a ghost, only letting his presence be felt if he wants it to be felt. I guess that makes sense considering he's a career assassin and everything.'_

She sighed tiredly and walked to the coffee maker, made herself a strong cup and went back to her work station. There was something else that was bothering her a bit more than the Prince's not-so MIA status.

Bulma was worried that her relationship with Yamcha was coming to a standstill. They've been together for fifteen years but for about three of those fifteen they've been broken up more than they've been together. When they do inevitably get back together everything's perfect in the beginning. It always is. But then after a few weeks they get comfortable and eventually fall back into their routine relationship. Then one day a fight between them ensues over something stupid or irrelevant and then they break up again. A decade and a half of wash, rinse and repeat. It was boring.

Even when she was still at the tender of five, Bulma knew that she was not an idle soul. She craved adventure, spontaneity, excitement for Kami's sake! And Yamcha was exciting when they first met. He had oozed danger, had a serious bad boy vibe about him and like a moth to a flame she couldn't stay away from him. If Bulma had to compare her boyfriend from fifteen years ago to now, she'd swear they were two different people.

If she was being honest, she knew their relationship had become monotonous for a while now. But she's always managed to push those negative feelings to the side and tried to keep the spark between them alive. These days, however, it's becoming impossible to ignore.

_'__It's all because of that dream I had the night before Vegeta came back", _she thought toherself_. "After it happened, something changed, like a shift of some sort. I don't know if I'd say I had a sense of foreboding. More like anticipation. But for what?' _Bulma frowned uneasily. She wasn't sure what it was but that was a question she didn't need answered. As far as she was concerned, it was just a dream and nothing else.

She was so engaged in her mental conversation that as she reached for a pencil to finish her upgrades for the gravity room, she knocked her coffee cup over, spilling the contents all over her work right before it crashed to the ground.

"NO!" She whipped the plans away hastily to try and save them. Unfortunately it was too little too late. They were ruined and they'd have to be redrawn. Just her luck.

"This is what happens when you don't keep your head in the game! I let my thoughts stray and what's the result?! A day's worth of work ruined in two fucking minutes!" It was safe to say that Bulma was not a happy camper. She'd foregone using a dustpan and brush and opted to pick them up by hand. In her irritation at herself for getting distracted, she roughly grabbed a very sharp edged piece of glass.

"SON OF A BITCH! REALLY?!" She opened her injured hand and watched as a steady flow of blood oozed out of a deep gash in her palm. She absolutely hated the sight of blood, especially if it was her own. Could this night get any worse?

Bulma got her answer when she felt her hackles rise on the back of her neck. She made sure to hide her hand as she quickly turned to face the last person she expected to see at that moment. _Vegeta_.

* * *

Vegeta had just turned the corner of the hallway that led to the lab when he heard a small crash followed by the woman's shouts of despair and screeches of anger. He chuckled when he heard her throw profanities at nobody. For such a petite woman with an innocent visage, her vulgarity is enough to make some of Frieza's foot soldiers blush in embarrassment.

The lab's automatic doors slid open and Vegeta stepped inside to find Bulma standing with her back towards him, holding her injured hand in the other. She was grumbling about something under her breath. He would've heard what it was if something else hadn't grabbed his attention.

His preternatural sense of smell caught the scent of the woman's blood. Her usual scent was enough to throw him off his balance. Her blood however was a different story. He took a deep breath, taking in its sweet aroma. It called to something deep inside of him. If he listened close enough, he could hear the howl of the Oozaru demanding he claim this woman right now, damn the consequences. He fisted his hands, trying to maintain control over his ancestral nature. It was too soon to act on his instincts. Timing was everything.

But that didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun while he waited.

The woman must have sensed she was being watched because she abruptly turned to face him. He noticed that she was hiding her hand behind her, hoping he wouldn't notice that she'd managed to hurt herself. He decided to pretend like he hadn't….for the time being. Just as he was about to demand what she was doing, she beat him to the punch.

"Well well well. Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence! What the hell are you even doing standing behind me in silence like some sort of stalker?! What do you want?!" Her sapphire eyes were scorching him where he stood. If looks could kill….

While Vegeta was grateful she mistook his reaction to her by assuming he was acting like some kind of lecher, he knew why she was lashing out and it had nothing to do with her still hidden hand. Right then, he decided to get the ball rolling with his plan. He chose to play her little game for now. He slowly stalked towards her as he spoke. "Well woman, if you must know, the control unit of your inferior machine shorted out and I demand that you fix it immediately! I have to train to my limits in order to become a super saiyan and I refuse to be hindered by outdated technology!"

Oh that did it.

"EXCUSE ME?!" She angrily cried out. Her reaction was nothing short of perfect. "Listen here Prince of one and a half Saiyans! Nobody, and I mean NOBODY ever addresses me in that manner! I'm Bulma Briefs! The most beautiful and intelligent woman on this fucking planet and if you think that you can speak to me like that then-"

He tuned her out as she kept speaking, inching closer and closer to her. He was more interested in her body language. While her words were meant to hold him off, her body told him something else. Her eyes, while they were spitting blue flames at him, were dilated with anger and lust. A heady combination. Her cheeks and neck were flushed red while her chest heaved as she continued to rant.

Vegeta couldn't help but wonder how all of this would look in a different situation. He imagined her in his bed, legs wrapped around his waist, cheeks as flushed as they are now and her chest heaving as she gasped in deep breaths while he worked to get her to scream his name into the night sky. One day…

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?!" She shouted. "Of course not woman. I couldn't stand to listen to you rant about yourself any longer than I had to so I just stopped." He smirked lightly as he said, "Honestly, I don't know how your pathetic mate puts up with you and your gloating. I'd say he's strong for putting up with but that's a joke all on it's own."

She must have reached her limit because the next thing he knew…

WHACK!

She slapped him across his face. In fact she did it so hard his head turned to the side. He was mildly impressed, she had more strength in her than he originally thought. Vegeta slowly turned his head to face her again. Bulma was shocked by what she'd done but she stood tall, refusing to show her fear even though she knew he could snap her in half with his thoughts alone.

He gave her a small smile, which put her even more on edge, and got so close to her that their bodies were only a hair's width apart. He bent his head slightly to put his lips to her ear and whispered huskily, "You get one of those, Bulma." He felt her small shiver when he spoke. She didn't expect him to use her name when talking to her. He looked down and saw the pulse in her neck racing. Vegeta could almost taste her arousal in the air around them, it was so potent. He got what he came here for.

He schooled his features into a blank mask as he pulled away and looked at her. "Hurry up with the repairs woman." He swiveled around and headed for the door. Just as he was about to leave, he turned his head slightly towards her and with a mocking smirk said, "By the way woman, you might want to get that hand checked out. We wouldn't want you to get an infection now would we?" He chuckled as he walked away. He was correct in his guess that the woman was just as affected by him as he was by her. Now the real fun could begin.

* * *

_What. The hell. Was that all about?_

Bulma stared at the door Vegeta had just walked out of in stunned silence. The nerve of that egotistical jerk! Demanding repairs from her like she was his servant or something!

She looked to the ruined plans sitting on her desk. She was so tempted to forget about upgrading the gravity room and just leave him to wallow in his self-imposed misery. It would serve him right!

But… If she did that, then he would come back here making even more ludicrous demands. That wasn't her main concern though. Bulma thought back to her reaction to his close proximity when he caged her against her desk. She could feel his contained strength pouring out of him in waves, his aura radiated danger. He reminded her of a sleek jungle cat with his grace and his savage nature. Kami help her, she liked it. A lot.

This was bad. Very bad.

She couldn't be attracted to Vegeta. He was all wrong for her. She knew she was attracted to bad boys but this was ridiculous. Vegeta didn't qualify as a 'bad boy' anyway. He was too intense for that label. No, he was….

A paradox. One that she wanted to figure out. Crap.

She had to keep her distance from him. She refused to go that far with Vegeta of all people. If anything, this incident just motivated her to mend her relationship with Yamcha even more. No way she was going to throw fifteen years of love and commitment away for twenty minutes of fun. Forget it.

With that resolve, Bulma cleaned up the rest of the broken cup. She tossed her plans in the trash, deciding to try again later and left the lab. Tomorrow was another day

* * *

**_Author's Note_****_: _** And another down, and another down. Another bites the dust! That's chapter 3 ladies and gentlemen. This is too much fun to write. Anyway, I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it. Shout out to Beaglinda and Khloe for your reviews. You guys make it worth it. Please RR. Until next time!


	4. Golden Opportunity

**DISCLAIMER: YOU ALREADY KNOW IT AIN'T MINE. NO NEED TO RUB IT IN**

**_Chapter 4_**

_Three Months Later…._

Yamcha was flying over West City heading to Capsule Corp. to join the Briefs for breakfast as per Bulma's request. The sky was a beautiful light blue with the sun peeking over the cotton white clouds. It was a great morning, only to be made perfect by the prospect of seeing his loving girlfriend.

For the past three months he and Bulma had been going out more often, hanging out and having fun together just like the old days. Like Bulma, he too had noticed that their relationship was beginning to fizzle out, threatening to come to an end. He was happy that they were trying to strengthen their bond although he did notice that their more intimate moments were few and far in between.

_'It doesn't matter though.'_ Yamcha thought to himself._ 'As far as I'm concerned everything's going pretty damn ace in my books.'_

Except….

He noticed that, over time, Vegeta had been around a whole lot more than he expected. Scratch that, Vegeta had been around BULMA a lot more than he'd expected. Or liked for that matter. In the beginning he wrote it off as paranoia._ 'I mean, the guy did kill people for a living. Of course I was gonna think that he was planning to hurt Bulma in some way. I mean who would blame me for being a little uneasy.'_

However, as he began to pay more attention to him, he realised that Vegeta wasn't going after Bulma, not in the way he originally feared. No, it was the opposite. He saw the dark lust that burned in the Prince's onyx eyes, lust that was directed at Bulma. Other times when he went to see Bulma at her lab, Vegeta would be walking out with a smug look on his face that only intensified when he saw Yamcha about to walk in. 'Weakling' he would say in mock greeting, but it was the way he said it that put him on edge. Almost as if he knew something Yamcha didn't.

The worst part was that Bulma would always look a little shaken after their encounters. It pissed him off that Vegeta made Bulma feel like her personal space has been invaded. Yamcha would try and question her about it, just needing one little bit of information and he could get that asshole kicked out of the property but Bulma would promise that he was just behaving like 'he had a stick up his ass' and that he's just being his usual pompous self. Afterwards, Yamcha would make it his mission to get Bulma's mind off of that dickwad.

Even if Bulma couldn't see it, Yamcha was 100% certain that Vegeta wanted Bulma. He had no doubt about it. Yamcha wasn't too worried though, he trusted Bulma and was confident that their relationship was strong enough that Vegeta didn't stand a chance with the woman he loved. _'That stupid Saiyan honestly thinks he's got a chance with Bulma. He's off his fucking rocker. She'd never go for him. Besides, he's too short and his ego could use a serious knock or two', _Yamcha snickered.

He saw the large yellow dome closing in and flew in, landing casually on the ground. As he walked to the door he heard the hum of the gravity chamber, Vegeta was obviously inside killing himself as usual. "That guy's a total wackjob. I bet he sleeps in there as well," He said. Yamcha was still bitter over the incident where he almost got crushed in the chamber trying to prove he could train just like Vegeta did. So every time he saw it, he always made sure to make some kind of snide comment.

He let himself in and followed the sounds of Mrs Briefs' happy chatter to the kitchen. He couldn't help but smile hearing her jovial stories. She always knows how to put a smile on anyone's face. Yamcha walked and greeted all the occupants of the kitchen.

"Hey Dr Briefs, Mrs B." He said with a wave.

"Morning my boy." Dr Briefs greeted politely.

"Oh why good morning Yamcha!" Mrs Briefs said enthusiastically. "You're just in time for breakfast! A strong young man like yourself needs all the fuel he can get to keep his great shape!"

"Thanks Mrs B," Yamcha said sheepishly, a light pink tint gracing his cheeks.

He walked to the table and sat next to his girl. "Morning babe," he whispered low in her ear and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"Morning Yamcha," she whispered back, giving him a sweet smile. They continued talking while Bunny laid all the food on the table. Bulma asked if she could help but her mother waved a dismissive hand, telling her not to worry and just relax.

Yamcha cleared his throat, catching Bulma's attention again. "Hey, there's something I need to tell you. It's kinda important."

Bulma raised her eyebrows, curiosity showing on her face, "What's up?"

Just as he was about to speak, he felt eyes burning the back of his head. He didn't have to turn to acknowledge the presence he felt. Mrs Briefs did for him. "Good morning Vegeta!" Of all the times….

* * *

"AHHHHH!! HAAAA!! TAKE THIIIIS!"

Vegeta was crouched in the chamber that was set at three hundred times earth's gravity, his sharp eyes never leaving the three battle bots as they moved around, formulating their own plan of attack. He jumped up into the air and punched right through one of them, disintegrating it on the spot. The other two had followed him up and were currently playing volleyball with an energy blast in between them at dazzling speed. Any second now one of them was going to direct it at him. He had to be alert!

The blast came to him just as he anticipated. He caught it with his hand and threw it at the other bot, which it managed to dodge. However, not a second later he sent out a powerful blast of his own to the distracted machine, destroying it immediately.

He landed on the ground and quickly turned to face the remaining opponent. He quickly ran towards it as it began to power up, preparing another attack. Just as it was about to release the beam, the Prince phased behind it and sent his fist through the bot, sparks flying all over the place. He retracted his fist and the useless machine fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Vegeta landed gracefully on his feet, panting for breath. He was victorious.

But he didn't feel like it at that moment.

"Dammit! What more do I have to do?! I've already bested three times gravity, I've gotten stronger than Frieza in his final form. What the hell am I missing?!" He was so close to Super Saiyan, he could almost taste it. But it continued to stay out of his reach. He could hear Kakarot's mocking laughter in the back of his mind, taunting him with his constant failure. He wouldn't let this carry on much longer. He would become a Super Saiyan if it was the last thing he did!

Vegeta was suddenly distracted by a certain ki in the distance. A sneer broke out on his lips when he felt who it belonged to. "Oh wonderful. It's that weakling again. Doesn't he have anywhere else to be except under the woman's skirt?!"

His already foul mood took a nosedive into the pits. He was getting really sick of that halfwit and his constant presence. If he had his way, he would've blasted him to hell and back.

He looked at the digital clock next to the gravity indicator.

_'8:00am? I've been here for four hours already?'_

As if to confirm his thoughts, his stomach released a loud growl. Curse him and his need to eat! If it were up to him, he wouldn't need to take breaks. Then he could ascend faster!

"Power off!" He said. The hum of the gravity room died down. It was time for him to go and replenish his strength so he could come back and try again. There were less than three years before those tin cans made their appearance. There was no time to waste. Vegeta left the chamber and walked across the yard to the kitchen, his permanent scowl fixed on his face. He walked in and was immediately greeted by the woman's ditzy mother.

"Good morning Vegeta!" He grit his teeth minutely. This woman's voice was enough to drive him up the wall with its annoying high pitch.

"Good morning son," the old man greeted simply. He grunted in response to both their greetings and went to sit across the woman and the weakling. The woman had a blank expression on her face, betraying nothing. The beta male was looking at him with open disdain.

_'The feeling's mutual dimwit.'_

"Vegeta." The weakling acknowledged reluctantly.

"Yamchuck." He said with a straight face.

Bulma was less than impressed with the name he gave her 'boyfriend'. "His name is Yamcha, Vegeta," She said through gritted teeth.

Vegeta simply shrugged dismissively. He could care less what his name was. He should be pleased the Prince of all Saiyans was acknowledging his existence to begin with. He dished his portion (which was the equivalent of 10 human portions) and began to eat.

She rolled her eyes at him and turned to face the beta male, "So what did you want to tell me that was so important?"

The fool looked over at him warily before facing the woman again. That peeked his interest but he was careful not to show it.

"So babe, I've noticed that my training isn't where it should be right now. I've barely made any significant progress. So I've decided that I'm going to train in the desert."

Oh really?? Perfect!

Though his face was blank, on the inside, he laughed darkly after hearing that tidbit of information. The woman however, was surprised.

"O-oh okay," Bulma stuttered out. She dreaded her next question but it needed to be asked. "For how long?" She really didn't like the look on his face now.

"For about a….year."

Oh this was too good to be true!

Gone for a whole year? Finally Vegeta would have zero hindrances in his chase for the woman. He's been biding his time for three months, constantly cornering her in her lab and sending her suggestive looks whenever she was around him. Even when she was busy with repairs in the gravity room, he would stay out of her sight but be present enough that she knew he was near, stalking her like a predator would his prey. Whether she chose to admit it or not, he knew that she got a dark thrill from it all. Today was suddenly looking a whole lot better.

Bulma couldn't say the same though.

"A year?!" The look on her face was priceless. She couldn't believe her ears. The woman glanced at him but quickly looked away when she noticed he was looking intently at her.

_'I know what you're thinking Bulma. You and I are about to get to know each other much better soon enough.'_

"Bulma I know it seems like a long time but it'll pass faster than you think.I'm doing this so that I can protect you from the androids when the time finally comes." Vegeta snorted at that. Yamcha gave him a dirty look before continuing, "I want to take this time to train at my hardest so that I can come stronger than ever."

Bulma wasn't letting up though, "Why can't you just train here? Or somewhere a bit closer, like one of the forests just outside the city? The desert is essentially on the other side of the planet!"

Mrs Briefs took that moment to interrupt. "Now Bulma, you have to understand why Yamcha's doing this. He just wants to keep you safe sweetie. Can you really be mad at him for that?" Bulma could only look at her mother in shock.

For once, Vegeta agreed with the ditzy woman. The farther the pathetic fool was from here, the better for him. For once, he was grateful the beta was as stupid as he was. He gave the Prince the perfect opening. And he had so much time to play with. Vegeta heard all he wanted to hear. It was time to get back to training. He suddenly had a lot of energy he wanted to burn.

He stood up, walked out of the kitchen and headed back to the gravity room. When he was halfway to the chamber, he heard the weakling calling out for him.

"Hey Vegeta!"

Oh for goodness sake.

Vegeta turned to face the beta male as he approached. "Look, just because I'm leaving for a while doesn't mean you can try anything funny with Bulma. If I come back and see even a hair on her head out of place, you'll be sorry you came back to Earth."

Really? _Really?_ He can't be serious.

Vegeta didn't answer, he merely rolled his eyes and turned back towards the gravity room. He had more important things to worry about. Yamcha wasn't having it though. He roughly grabbed Vegeta by his shoulder and tried to turn him around, determined to get an answer.

Big mistake.

Next thing he knew, he was on his knees looking up at the Prince of darkness, who had a cold murderous look in his now dark _crimson_ eyes and was choking the life out of Yamcha. His eyes bulged wide from the grip on his throat that was so tight he could feel his trachea slowly being crushed.

Vegeta leaned down slightly and said in a deceptively soft tone, "Listen and listen well weakling. You will never touch me in such a disrespectful manner again. Do you understand?" The pathetic fool couldn't do anything but gurgle in response. Vegeta smirked deviously at the panic in the idiot's eyes.

"By the way, the only way the woman's hair would be a mess is after I spent the night fucking her until she forgot your name." If that toad's eyes could've gotten any wider, it was at that moment.

"Vegeta stop!" The woman screamed. She was running towards the two warriors determined to make sure Yamcha didn't die again.

The Prince glanced over at her approaching figure , his eyes returning to their onyx shade, before looking down at the male before him. "Safe travels, boy." Vegeta flung him to the ground and walked into the gravity room. He had training to do.

* * *

Bulma was by Yamcha's side just after Vegeta walked into the gravity room. "Yamcha are you okay?!" She held his face in her hands. Yamcha was coughing violently, wincing in pain afterwards. It hurt to swallow. "I'm fine babe." He said in a raspy voice. He could tell he was going to be sporting a nasty bruise for a while.

"What the hell were you thinking challenging him like that?! Are you trying to get yourself killed before the androids show up?!" Bulma yelled.

"I was trying to make sure Vegeta didn't bother you while I was gone." Yamcha was none too pleased about Bulma reprimanding him. She didn't hear what that beast told him before she showed up.

"I can fight my own battles Yamcha," she said softly. "I promise I'll take care of myself. You can trust me. You don't have to worry, okay?" She gave him a reassuring smile.

"Okay." He smiled back tentatively.

He really hoped he wasn't making a mistake by leaving for so long.

_It's not you I don't trust Bulma. It's that monster I don't trust._

* * *

**_Author's Note:_** Whewww!!! That was the longest chapter I've written to date. It was so fun to write though with everybody present in the story hahaha! Okay so two things I want to say. First, updates won't be as frequent cause I'm gonna be interning for about 5 weeks and the hours are insane so I'll probably be too tired to update as often as I have. I wanna make sure that I deliver my best work to you guys even if it takes a while to get it out. You deserve it. Secondly, I wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who's been leaving such wonderful comments on my story, both on FF and AO3. I really do appreciate it, from the bottom of my heart. You've made me feel so welcome as a first time author and it means the world. I love you guys!

Please review! Until next time! RR18


	5. Guilt Free

**YE BE WARNED. YE BE WARNED MATIES!!**

**_Chapter 5_**

It's peaceful yet deathly silent as midnight rolls around in West City. The sky is an inky black with the moon being slightly obscured by clouds, giving an ominous feel to the evening. Vegeta stands in the gardens, looking up at the sky whilst contemplating the time that's passed since the departure of the woman's "mate" from Capsule Corp.

It's been a month since that time and the Prince spent at least ninety percent of that time striving to get ahead in his training. There were many moments where he felt he wasn't making any progress. It frustrated him greatly to the point where a few times he nearly blasted himself into the cold reaches of space, thinking that the answers lay somewhere in the cosmos yet he remained. Today, however, he noticed something, a leap in his training that he hadn't paid attention to until just before it passed.

**_Flashback _**

_Vegeta was training against the new model of training bots the woman had designed for him. He must admit, they were significantly better than the older models he had to endure for so painstakingly long. They were more durable and able to anticipate his attacks better so they wouldn't break as easily or quickly._

_He threw a few ki blasts at two of them, which they evaded, while the other two were trying to circle behind him, attempting to catch him off guard. Not on his watch. He deliberately turned his back to the two behind him and waited for the tiny telltale whining sound they made before blasting at him. The moment they released he jumped up into the air and the attacks hit the bots he attempted to turn into scrap metal. They fell to the floor, short circuiting before shutting down. Two down…_

_The last two followed him up and he went on the offensive the same time they did. He punched the one bot to the side and executed a perfect 180 turn to give the other a roundhouse kick. They both fell to the ground but go up just as quickly, flying back up to meet him head on. Disposing of them should've been as simple as sweeping dirt under the rug but he'd expended a lot of his energy training in intense gravity the whole day that he was uncharacteristically sluggish. He had no choice but to power up._

_Just as they'd surrounded him, he started powering up, his ice blue aura flaring like wild blue flames around him, balling his hands into fists and raising his arms slightly. "AAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!" He roared as he pushed his limits as high as they could go. But it didn't feel like enough! He needed more! A picture of Kakarot in his Super Saiyan form flashed through his mind, taunting him with his status as second best and he felt a sudden burst of energy come forth. A brilliant golden flame replaced his usual blue aura for a millisecond before everything flashed white and the gravity room shook with the intensity of his power._

_Vegeta opened his eyes, panting heavily for breath and looked down at the damage before him. The bots were utterly destroyed, lying in ruins below him. He felt a smirk come over his face before he snickered softly, breaking out into almost hysterical laughter afterwards. He'd seen the golden aura before it vanished. He was almost at his peak. Soon the universe would know that there was only one true Super Saiyan. The Prince was ready to take his throne as ruler of the universe, just as he was destined to. _

**_End flashback _**

It seemed to Vegeta that dedicating most of his time to his training was extremely beneficial. He could almost taste the success of his transformation. It would happen very soon.

The other ten percent of the past month he didn't spend on training however….

He was busy with the woman of course, just not in the way one would expect. Whenever he was around her he would always be sure to hide the desire in his eyes for her. He always presented her with a blank expression when he spoke to her, giving away nothing of what he was thinking. It was irritating because he felt he'd wasted a lot of time playing games in his pursuit for her.

But it was worth it to see her reaction to his cool behavior.

She tried to hide it but at times, he'd catch her gaze before she looked away and he would see that her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were slightly dilated. Other times he could smell her arousal start to permeate the air if she gazed at him for too long and thought he didn't notice. Silly woman. If Bulma's senses were half as good as his, she'd have been able to detect his desire for her a long time ago and his nonchalant act would've been shot to hell. For once he was slightly grateful she didn't have that ability.

The game has been played for long enough. It was time to make his true intentions known.

Vegeta felt out for Bulma's ki. Wouldn't you know it, she was wide awake in the living room. The Prince looked up at the sky one last time, gazing at the full moon. He felt his heart beat faster, the power of the Oozaru flowing through his veins, the beast roaring loudly in his spirit, demanding an outlet. He smirked deviously, feeling his fangs elongate slightly. Oh he'd get that outlet. He walked to the building, done with wasting time and headed straight for the living room.

_Get ready Bulma._

* * *

"There's nothing to watch on this stupid thing! This fucking sucks!" Bulma childishly whined at the TV.

Bulma had been working in her lab the whole day trying to finish off some of her outstanding projects. In the morning she'd walked in to find them stacked into a large pile on her desk, no doubt left by her father. The message was clear: finish your old work before starting new projects. That's what she did the whole day, barely taking breaks for lunch and dinner. Needless to say, the day flew by quickly and she got a lot of work done.

Now she lies on the couch in the living room dressed in a pale pink tank top and navy sleep shorts with her now straight hair in a messy bun on top of her head. She'd tried to sleep earlier on but was too restless, turning this way and that. In the end she gave up and opted to watch TV until her racing thoughts calmed down and she could finally sleep. No such luck so far. And it was all thanks to one person.

Bulma closed her eyes and tried to sort through her head. After Yamcha left, she was nervous that Vegeta was going to try something with her after all the hints he'd been dropping before. All the heated looks and small sensual touches would finally be cast aside in favour of more bold moves, moves that she refused to think about.

So imagine her surprise when nothing of the sort happened. Instead, the Prince just gave her the cold shoulder out of nowhere and opted to train most of the time. Even the times where she did see him, his eyes would be cold and his expression gave away none of his true thoughts. He acted like she didn't exist, only seeking her out when he needed something repaired or replaced in the gravity room. When they argued there was no heat in his gaze, no small smirk on his lips. There was just frustration in his eyes, frustration directed at her. She didn't understand why he was acting like that. More importantly, Bulma didn't understand why _she_ even _cared_.

_'No, I know exactly why I care. I should at least be honest with myself if no one else.'_

She opened her eyes and sighed heavily, running her hand up her hair. It was pointless trying to deny her attraction to the Prince, if only to herself. She thought about the way he looked whenever he came into the house for a meal. He'd always come straight from the gravity room and she couldn't rip her eyes away from him and his sculpted body.

Her gaze started at his gravity defying hair, it was bold and unique, refusing to be molded into anything that wasn't who he truly was, to his face that perfectly angular with an aristocratic nose and full pink lips just made for kissing. Then her eyes would roam on his chest, slightly matted with scars and his abs, they were practically made to shred paper the way they were so ripped. She would follow the trails of sweat as they trekked down towards that 'V' just below his naval and disappear down his shorts. Her eyes would then move to his powerful thighs and she couldn't help but wonder how solid they felt.

Even the way he moved, gracefully and swift like a panther was sexy as all get out. It wasn't fair. No man, alien or not, should be allowed to look like that. It was hazardous to a woman's health.

Her dreams were no help either. Almost nightly she would dream of the Prince, her wrists held above her head in his hands, her body trapped beneath his as he fucked her sensuously. She'd always wake up in a sweat, her panties soaked right through. It was both delicious and torturous. More than once, she'd had to use her hand or vibrator to take the edge off, if only a little bit.

But no matter how attracted she was to him, it was now painfully obvious that he wasn't attracted to her at all. She'd come to the conclusion that he acted the way he did before Yamcha left to mess with his head. Now that he's gone there was no point in keeping up with the act. Why he would do that, play childish games with Yamcha's sanity, she couldn't say. Either way, it was time to stop thinking about it.

"Face it girl, you were both played", she said to herself. "Besides, Vegeta's too focused on his goal to achieve Super Saiyan. He's not interested in you, it's all in your head."

Out of nowhere she felt her hackles rise on her arms. She felt him before she heard him speak. "Now why would you say something like that Woman?," Vegeta whispered.

She snapped up straight, now sitting to face the object of her hidden desires leaning on his back against the doorway. There was something different about him tonight, she couldn't place what it was yet. "Vegeta", she said fighting off her wayward thoughts, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough." He replied huskily, not bothering to hide what he's feeling. He started to slowly walk towards Bulma, his gaze set intently on her. She looked into his eyes and hers widened.

She recognized that look. The one that's been missing for a whole month. Fuck.

Since the television was the only light source in the room, half his silhouette was visible while the other half was barely there, giving him a look that lived up to his status as the 'Prince of darkness'. Her heart started beating faster at the sight, but not from fear.

No way, this was NOT happening. She needed to move. ASAP.

"Well Vegeta, it's late and I'm tired so whatever you want is going to have to wait until tomorrow morning." She was proud of the casual note in her voice. She attempted to stand from the couch and leave the room. Attempted being the key word because the next moment, Vegeta had moved to her in a flash, putting his hands on top of the couch on either side of her head, effectively caging her in, and moved his face closer to hers.

She leaned back, bumping into the back of the couch, trying to keep some distance between the two of them. "What are you doing?" she whispered softly.

"Shhh", Vegeta gently placed his index finger on her lips, "I'm doing what you've been silently asking me to do for a long time." He moved his gaze to her pink lips for a moment before moving it back to her sapphire eyes that were filled to the brim with desire.

"Don't think that I didn't notice any of those looks you gave me when you thought I wasn't aware. I could always smell your arousal in the air around us though you tried to hide with an act of nonchalance."

Bulma's eyes widened at that statement. She always knew that saiyan senses were above those of a human but she didn't think they were THAT powerful.

Before she could dispute him, Vegeta's face was suddenly very close to hers, so close in fact that she could feel his hot breath brushing against her neck. She barely managed to suppress a shiver at the feeling. The Prince started to move his finger slowly down her torso. "Of course you were about to tell me how wrong I am, that I must be imagining all these things I just mentioned. As much as you can try and lie to me verbally, your body tells me a very different story. Your breathing for instance, like now, increases when I'm close to you."

"Well obviously. Wouldn't you get a little jumpy if someone was in your personal space?" She argued weakly. Vegeta smirked seductively, his onyx eyes burning with lust so hot, she could feel her insides turning to molten lava. She rubbed her thighs together to try and get some relief. Vegeta saw this and his smirk widened, the cocky bastard.

He carried on, leaving her question unanswered, "Your breasts would be a dead giveaway, with them always coming out to greet me." He circled one of her erect nipples over her top at that moment, causing her breath to catch in her throat. Her heart was beating fast with forbidden excitement. She wanted so badly to just throw caution to the wind and jump him but she sat, held back by an invisible force, unable to bring herself to move from his ministrations.

Vegeta moved his finger down her abdomen at a torturous pace, getting closer to his goal. He was holding on to his self control by sheer will alone. The scent of Bulma's desire was driving him crazy with lust. He took a deep breath and carried on. He was almost there. "But the best and most obvious part remained hidden away from me but was always present to you right...", he slipped his hand into her shorts, through her soaking wet panties and ran a finger down her moist slit, "..._here_."

Bulma was breathing heavily trying to get oxygen into her lungs. She felt dizzy, her head spinning with desire. He'd barely touched her and she was ready to explode. It was insane. She gulped some, leaning her head backwards and unintentionally exposed her neck.

The Prince saw this, bent his head down and planted a few hot kisses on the base of her neck and moved up slowly. A small moan escaped Bulma's lips at the feeling and she bent her head back a bit more, giving him more access. She felt his lips turn up in a small grin before he moved his lips to her ear. He caught her lobe with his canines and pulled, the sharp points piercing her skin a bit, releasing a tiny amount of blood. He licked it off and growled at the taste of her essence, causing her to release a shiver from the sound.

Vegeta pulled his head back slightly and looked into her half lidded eyes once more before leaning forward and kissing her gently on her lips. He nearly moaned at the feel of her soft lips against his, their plush feeling making him wonder how they would feel wrapped around a certain part of his anatomy. He pulled back once more to catch his breath a bit when he heard her whisper his name in a desirous plea.

"_Vegeta_…"

That was all he needed to hear. He crushed his lips back on to hers and kissed her passionately and this time she responds. He ran the tip of his tongue along her bottom lip, silently asking her to open her mouth. She accepted and he wasted no time going in and exploring her moist cavern.

Bulma was blown away by how hot their kiss was. Never in a million years would she have imagined that Vegeta of all people could make her feel this way. This put all of her dreams to shame.

The Prince wrapped his other arm around her body and laid her down on the couch, with him on top of her. His other hand, still inside her shorts, started moving again. He ran two fingers up and down her slit, occasionally brushing against her clit. He pulled his head back and watched her as he plunged his fingers into her hot depths. She moaned and spread her legs some more to give him better access. That was his cue to start moving his fingers in and out of her pussy. He moved at a slow pace, too slow for her apparently since she started squirming against his hand, trying to get him to move faster.

He stopped.

Bulma snapped her eyes open to see him staring down at her with a overly satisfied look in his eyes, his ever present smirk looking downright sinful at that moment. "Tsk tsk tsk. Trying to rush me, are you? Next time you do that I'll just stop again. And again. You get the picture. Are we clear Bulma?" She nodded her head, body clenching at the sound of her name on his lips. "Good girl", he whispered in his rich baritone voice. All of a sudden..

_RIP!_

Bulma gasped and looked down in shock to find her top had been torn right down the middle. _'When did he even move his hand?!'_

Vegeta chuckled at her surprised expression and bent his head to place open mouthed kisses on the top of breasts. She sighed at the the pleasurable feeling, her ruined top instantly forgotten. The Prince moved down and captured one nipple his mouth the same time he started moving his fingers again. Bulma cried out and grinded her hips against his hand, moving in time with his now quick thrusts.

Vegeta put his thumb on her clit and stroked it vigorously while he fucked her with his fingers. She tried to keep quiet, she really did but it was no use. She moaned wantonly, her head thrown back in ecstasy. To quiet her down, Vegeta kissed her, swallowing her moans. He feels her body tighten, indicating she's about to come. He kicks it up a notch one last time by focusing his ki on his hand, the heat of it adding to her pleasure.

That was what tipped her over as she arched her back and screamed her release, her vision blacking out for a moment while she rode the wave.

Bulma fell back onto the couch feeling like she was floating on cloud nine. Her legs felt like jelly and she felt a pleasant buzz go through her body. If this is what foreplay is like with Vegeta then she could only imagine what the sex was like.

Vegeta looked over the boneless woman underneath him, panting for breath after her orgasm passed. He couldn't help but smile smugly at the image before him. He'd bet that she never looked like this after a session with the beta male.

He hooked this thumbs on either side of her shorts and started pulling them off of her.

_'What was that?' _

Vegeta's abruptly raised his head and he looked up at the ceiling. He snarled in frustration, the womans infernal mother was awake and on her way here, most likely going to the kitchen. Dammit all!

Bulma looked up in surprise when she felt Vegeta move off her body as quick as a bolt of lightening. "What's wrong?" She sat up and watched him adjust himself in his sweatpants. She winced a little bit. _'That can't be too comfortable'. _

"Your hare brained mother is on her way here", he replied gruffly.

"What?!" she cried out, intentionally ignoring the jab at her mom. She took her top, about to put on until she realised it was torn beyond repair by Vegeta. She glared at the back of his head as he walked away.

Just before he left, he turned to face her once more. He looked over her, letting his gaze travel slowly down her body. His eyes landed back on hers. The smug feeling returned when he saw the red tint in her cheeks. "Cover yourself up. We don't need your mother asking questions yet now do we?" He said with a chuckle before he left. He went straight to his room. He needed to take of himself.

Bulma covered herself with the throw blanket on the one seater couch across the room just as her mother appeared.

"Oh hi honey! Whatcha doin up so late?," Bunny asked her daughter.

"Oh I was watching TV cause I couldn't sleep. I was just going to bed now." She should win a prize for how calm she was. Inside, she was panicking. Her mother may seem like a ditz but she had a sharp eye at the worst of times.

Luckily this wasn't one of those times. "Alright then sweety. I'll leave you to it. Have a good night darling!" Bunny walked into the kitchen, out of sight. Bulma took that opportunity to take her ruined top and dash to her room. Once she was there, she got a new top and climbed into bed. At least now she felt like she could sleep. She still couldn't believe what had happened with the Prince of Saiyans. Funny thing was, she didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt. In fact, it all felt so….right.

_'I am so screwed.'_

That was the last thought she had before she fell asleep.

* * *

Author's Note: Yeah remember when I said the last chapter was my longest? Not anymore lol. Then again, who's counting? This was a really fun chapter to write. You guys obviously noticed I didn't warn you about that hot little part in the story. Because why should I ruin a surprise like that? And I refused to use words like 'his manhood', 'her core', 'her flower' etc. I know its fanfiction lingo but its makes me cringe to hell and back when I read those words. If it made you uncomfortable I'm sorry but I did give a slight hint before the chapter started. I had considered not posting the _ahem _part but I took the risk. I may take it down later, we'll see. Anyway, I hope this was worth the wait! Thank you again to RoyalBlueRoses, Khloe and Beaglinda for your comments. You guys are the best. Please review! Until next time! RR18


	6. Surprises

**_Chapter 6_**

The next morning Bulma's walking down the expansive hallway on her way to the kitchen to join her family for breakfast. It's a long walk there so she has enough time to think about the events of last night.

When she got to her room she was still in a bit of a stupor so she hadn't questioned it too much at the time. Now her mind was clear and to say she was feeling unnerved was a bit of an understatement. Bulma couldn't believe how easily she had offered herself up to Vegeta like she was a hooker in a brothel. _'He must think I'm some kind of a tramp who's easily swayed by a few whispered words and soft touches. Kami, what was I thinking?' _She slapped her palm on her forehead. _'That's just it. I wasn't thinking. Ugh.'_

That's not the only thing that's bothering her.

At no point during their..moment..did she think about Yamcha. It was only before she'd gone to sleep that he suddenly popped into her mind. The weird part was that she felt no guilt when his face showed up in her mind. She only felt contentment. Even now her guilt wasn't all that high. A while back this would've worried her but now things have changed. Bulma had come to terms that their relationship was over. She'd hardly thought about him in the time he's been gone, her focus more towards the arrogant prince. Even before that, for a long time she'd felt that they were over but had been too stubborn to let go. '_Honestly the only reason I'd refused to let it go was because I didn't want to be alone. Loneliness can be a real bitch.'_

Bulma had been alone for the longest time before meeting Goku and the others. Being the heiress to one of the richest companies in the world tends to attract a lot of fake people pretending to like you just because they want a piece of what you have. '_I wouldn't die if I was alone but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the company. But that's besides the point.'_

She sighed lightly and waved her hand in front of her face like she was clearing the thought bubbles from in front of her. Even if her relationship with Yamcha was over, that didnt mean she was going to immediately jump over to Vegeta. That just screamed 'harlot'. She also had her pride for goodness sake. Another thing that Bulma had no doubts on was that Vegeta just wanted to hit it and quit it. Despite her (sometimes) overly flirtatious nature, she's not looking for that type of setting. In any case, if she did want to fool around with the bullheaded monarch, she wasn't going to be available when he suddenly wanted her to be available.

All these months he's been hot and cold with Bulma, giving off 'come fuck me' vibes one moment and then giving off an icy attitude the next that just told her to stay back. Then he pulled that little stunt last night that just blew everything out the water. He was messing with her head and playing games with her. Bulma was determined to give that arrogant ass a piece of her mind. She nodded her head in agreement to her thoughts, a firm expression on her face._ 'If Vegeta thinks that I'm just an oblivious doormat he can walk all over when it suits him, he's got another thing coming!'_

With that thought set in stone Bulma eventually made it to the kitchen and greeted her family as she sat down at the table.

"Good mornin' honey!" Mrs Briefs chirped happily.

"Morning Mama", Bulma replied with a smile. Her mother knew just how to bring a little happiness to her mood, no matter what. She turned to face her father, smile still in place. "Morning Dad."

"Good morning pumpkin", Dr Briefs replied, his head obscured with the newspaper he never failed to read in the morning. His wife used to lecture him about that but eventually gave up and let him be. She still tries from time to time but she knows it's a lost cause. Mrs Briefs put all their plates in front of them before eventually seating herself down at the table.

"Oh dear, has anyone seen Vegeta? He's usually here before we have breakfast," Mrs Briefs said.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much mom. He's probably just off training somewhere. He'll show up when he wants to." Bulma replied nonchalantly.

"Oh that poor boy", Bulma rolled her eyes at that statement, "He works so hard to make sure he can keep us safe from those nasty androids. I'm sure all the extra effort he puts in is to make sure you're the safest of all Bulma." Mrs Briefs cooed at her daughter.

If Bulma had anything in her mouth at that moment, she would've spat it all out in shock. Instead she just looked at her mother with wide eyes and a hanging mouth. "What d-did? Why would you? Where did that come from?!"

Bunny just giggled and said, "Darling, do you really not see the looks that he gives you? They're positively scorching! He obviously has feelings for you Bulma."

_And that's my cue. _

Bulma quickly finished her food and stood up from the table. "As usual, breakfast was great Mama. I'll be in the GR doing repairs if you need me. Bye!" She got out of there before anyone could say anything.

Mrs Briefs blinked in confusion. "Was it something I said?"

Dr Briefs merely chuckled at his poor wife's puzzled expression, "I think you scared her honey."

Bunny waved a dainty hand at her husband, "Bulma's just in denial. She'll see what I'm talking about soon. Just you wait."

* * *

Bulma was in the gravity room, doing repairs to the control unit of the machine. She's on her back, the top half of her body not visible as she's working to fix the problem within the unit. "He probably deflected a stray ki blast towards the unit and fried the system. Stupid male! Why do I always have to warn him about the same things? Am I constantly talking to a brick wall or something?!" She turned the final screw and shut the panel above her. It was done!

"What the hell are you doing in here Woman?"

Bulma screeched at the unexpected booming voice and tried to sit up quickly, causing her to bump her head into the metal above. "Owww! Dammit Vegeta, warn a girl next time! And if you must know, I was repairing the machine that you broke. Again." She slid out and looked up to find Vegeta staring at her legs before going back up to her face. She felt a bit of satisfaction go through her at that moment.

_'No matter what race they are or what planet they're from, a man will always be a man.'_

She suddenly remembered what she wanted to do if she encountered the arrogant ass. Before Vegeta could open his mouth to respond, she beat him to the punch.

"Listen here buddy boy and listen well because I won't repeat myself a second time. Last night you caught me off guard with your sudden 'come hither' attitude after basically ignoring my existence for a whole month so unfortunately for you, there won't be a repeat performance! If you think that I'm some cheap bimbo who'll spread her legs for you the moment you snap your fucking fingers you've got another thing coming!"

Bulma stabbed Vegeta's chest with her index finger, intent on getting her point across to him. "You don't get to give me the cold shoulder for a month and then come to me when you're all hot and bothered just because you can't find another woman who's able to stand your boorish attitude long enough that she'd be willing to get into bed with you!"

Vegeta suddenly grabbed her hand, not hard enough to hurt but enough to get her attention. "For all your gloating about how much of a genius you are, you really can be an idiot sometimes Woman. Do you really think that I would've wasted my time chasing you for months if all I wanted was a quick fuck? A little full of ourselves aren't we?"

Bulma wasn't buying it though. "A lot of men will spend as much time as you have going after a woman and as soon as she relents, it's wam, bam, thank you ma'am! They live for the thrill of the chase!"

Bulma soon realised that was the wrong thing to say the moment she saw Vegeta's eyes spark with heat.

Vegeta smirked lightly and started walking towards Bulma, forcing her to step back since he was still holding her hand. "You're not wrong about males who get a thrill from chasing a woman for a long time. It makes them feel like they've conquered a worthy opponent. Thing is, I don't work that way. I do like to play games as well, but only for a night. It's all the time I need to seduce a woman until she's putty in my hands and I give her a night to remember."

'_Then when it was all over, I killed her. But you don't need to know that part.'_ He wasn't known as the "Ruthless Prince" for no reason after all.

Bulma feels a slight buzz go through her as Vegeta's words reminded her of the very night that sparked this conversation. She didn't doubt for a second that he knew how to pleasure a woman. No need to let him know that though. "That's real egotistical of you Vegeta. You really think highly of yourself and your 'expertise' don't you?"

Vegeta didn't take the bait, merely shrugging and said, "I didn't hear you complaining."

Prick.

"But this time it's different. I've spent all this time, time I could've spent training to achieve my goal, pursuing you. You'd think it would be obvious but it seems I have to spell it out for you."

Bulma suddenly felt her back hit the wall. _'How do I always end up in situations like this?'_

Vegeta caged Bulma by putting each hand on either side of her head. He moved his face closer to hers and whispered in a soft seductive tone, "I want you. Not in a 'wam, bam, thank you ma'am' manner as you so eloquently suggested. It's a bit more _permanent_ than that."

It was almost comical how her eyes widened after she finally put two and two together.

"Wait, a-are you saying…?"

The Prince rolled his eyes at her shock. "Yes Woman. You're my destined mate. Believe me when I say I fought off the notion in the beginning before I came to that conclusion. I've realised that you are my match despite your pitiful strength and the obvious point that you aren't a Saiyan."

She had no words. Bulma Briefs had been stunned into utter silence. She could only stare at Vegeta, still trying to come full circle at his declaration. She blinked rapidly, fighting to come out of her stupor. "Of all the things I expected you to say, that really wasn't one of them."

Vegeta laughed at her expression, it was priceless. "You'll find that I'm a man of many surprises, Woman."

That's for sure.

Vegeta took a few steps back, giving Bulma room to breathe. "Are you done with the repairs?"

"What repairs?", she replied. The Prince raised a questioning eyebrow.

_'Oh! The GR repairs. Get your shit together girl!'_

"Yeah I'm done with them. Guess I'll just...leave you to it then." She grabbed her toolbox and walked to the door. She suddenly had no fight left in her. Before she left, Vegeta's voice halted her in her tracks.

"_Bulma_." She suppressed a shiver before turning slightly to face him. "We'll continue with this later." She could only nod before walking out the door. Vegeta turned on the gravity, cleared his mind and phased out of sight.

* * *

_'What the hell just happened?! I was planning on ripping him a new one, not walking away with even more questions and confusion than this morning!_' Her life is just one surprise after another these days. Curveballs were just being thrown at her six ways from Sunday, so much so that she was starting to forget which way was up.

_'I have the sudden urge to just take a nice long nap despite the fact that it's only 11 in the morning. Yeah that's what I'll do.'_ Bulma walked in through the living room and bumped into the wall with an 'oof'.

"I must be more distracted than I thought if I'm bumping into walls now."

Pause.

Hold on a second.

There's never been a wall in this area to walk into before.

_'I don't think I can handle any more surprises right now.'_ She whined internally. She looked up slowly to see the person responsible for blocking her path.

Oh no.

"Hey babe." Yamcha said with a grin before giving her a hug.

_Fuuuck_.

* * *

**_Author's Note: _**Guess who's back? Back again? Gosh it's been a minute...or ten lol. Yamcha decided to pay Bulma an early visit. ***Insert Kevin Hart*** It's about to go down.

For some reason, I'm not happy with this chapter. I looked at it until I was cross eyed but I still feel weird about it. I guess it's cause I'm tired but I have hope that it'll improve with time. Can you guys believe I'm still doing my internship even though other people are at home because of the outbreak? Oh well, perks of working in a hotel I guess. Because if you can't calm your guests then who will?

Anyway, I hope you guys are staying safe during this time. Practice good hygiene and sanitize regularly. Please R and R. Stay cool my dudes! Until next time! RR18


	7. Endings and Beginnings

**DISCLAIMER: IT'S SO HARD TO REMEMBER TO DO THIS THING. ANYWAY, DBZ AIN'T MINE. BOO!**

**_Chapter 7_**

"You have no idea how good it is to see you babe." Yamcha said while squeezing Bulma in his arms, her face smooshed into his chest.

"Yamcha, as much as this hug feels really nice, I kinda need to breathe." She replied.

"Oh! My bad." He let go of her while laughing nervously. She smoothed her slightly mussed hair down and gave Yamcha a small smile.

She really wasn't expecting to see him so soon. She had to ask."So what are you doing back here so early? It's only been a month you know."

"I wanted to surprise you babe. You know, make sure you weren't missing me so much that you lost the will to live", he teased lightly. It was the truth, about ninety five percent of it. _'I also wanted to make sure that Vegeta wasn't terrorizing you while I was away.'_

Bulma could only look at Yamcha while trying to form some words.

It was official. The universe was playing a cosmic joke on her. Literally right after her conversation (if you could call it that) with Vegeta, she walks into her house to find the one person she wasn't expecting to see for at least another eleven months standing there telling her he wanted to surprise her. Bulma was pretty sure she'd reached her quota of surprises for one lifetime. There was a silver lining to this visit though. She could do what both of them were too reluctant to do for a long time now.

"I missed you too", she smiled halfheartedly, "but it's a good thing you're here. I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Y-yeah sure." Yamcha couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. This wasn't the warm welcome he was expecting. Bulma seemed a little...off. His hands started getting a little moist but he hid them in the pockets of his jeans. _'You're getting nervous over nothing. She's probably tired, that's all.'_

She led them to the couch and they both sat down. Yamcha was a little confused by the sudden blush on her cheeks but mentally shrugged it off. It probably wasn't that big a deal. Oh if only he knew….

Bulma took a deep breath and released it with a soft sigh. She took Yamcha's hands in her own and looked into his eyes. Those dark brown eyes had, once upon a time, caused butterflies to flutter in her stomach and her heart to race with giddiness. Now she didn't feel any of those things. She hadn't for a while now and it made her a little sad.

_'This really is the end, isn't it?'_

"We both knew that our relationship was taking strain a while back before you left. The spark between us was fading and we were drifting apart." Yamcha's eyebrows furrowed, not liking where she was taking this train of thought.

"I'm really glad we put more effort into our relationship to try and close the gap between us. But I think it's time for us to be honest with ourselves Yamcha. This has been going nowhere slowly. We both know it but were too stubborn to see it for what it is."

"Bulma…", Yamcha couldn't say anything else. He knew what she was about to say but was hoping against hope that she would say something else.

"I think it's time we call it quits as a couple. I still care about you a lot and I hope we can still remain good friends." Bulma's sapphire eyes never looked away from Yamcha's as she brought down the metaphorical axe on their relationship. A part of her was sad to end it because it meant the end of her childhood, but it had to be done. This would be beneficial for both of them in the long run.

Her now ex-beau didn't see it that way.

"That's bullshit." He snatched his hands away from hers and walked away from the couch. What the actual fuck just happened?! He came here to see his beautiful girlfriend and surprise her and here she was trying to break things off! This is not how he thought this day would turn out.

"I know you're upset right now Yamcha but-"

"Upset?! Oh-ho no, I'm not upset, I'm fuming!" His fisted hands were shaking and his eyes were filled with hurt. There had to be another explanation for this sudden change of heart and he was determined to find out.

"What's the real reason for you ending things?" It was beyond him how his teeth hadn't cracked under the immense pressure they were under from being clenched so hard. Bulma felt her throat dry up instantly. While she didn't feel too bad about what occurred the night before, that didn't mean she wanted to blurt it out to Yamcha. It would crush him.

Apparently she wouldn't have to say anything, someone did it for her.

"She's leaving your pansy ass because you weren't good enough for her. Hell, I don't think you're good enough for any woman on this mud ball planet." Vegeta couldn't believe how pathetic this male was. He couldn't leave the woman for two seconds before coming back expecting her to welcome him with open arms.

He'd felt the weakling arrive onto the compound before his encounter with the woman in the chamber but had deemed his arrival inconsequential. He had better things to worry about. It was only after he felt the 'warriors' ki spike along with the woman's tiny ki that he felt he should see what all the commotion was. He was so glad he did because he could now be rid of this insect's presence from the property once and for all.

Yamcha really wasn't in the mood for Vegeta's smartass comments.

"This doesn't involve you Vegeta so why don't you just fuck off!"

The Prince chuckled darkly, crossing his arms in an arrogant manner with a wolfish grin on his face.

"Oh but that's where you're wrong weakling. This does involve me, more than you realise."

Bulma knew what Vegeta was going to say and she couldn't let him do it, not like this. "Vegeta this really isn't any of your business so why don't you go back to the chamber and leave us to talk in peace!" She should've known not to challenge the arrogant prick.

Vegeta turned his head to face Bulma, the grin on his face still prominent.

"But woman, I would think your 'boyfriend' deserves to know that his worst fear has become a reality."

Yamcha froze on the spot upon hearing those words. That couldn't be right. He eyed the Prince with barely suppressed anger. "What the hell are you talking about?" That prick couldn't be saying…

"All those months ago, whenever you walked in to find the woman all flustered, did you really think fear was the cause? Those times she would run to you after our talks, did you really believe it was to get away from me?" Vegeta smirked mockingly at the beta male. He really lived in that denial for the longest time didn't he?

"Get to the fucking point!" Yamcha had just about lost his patience. He had enough of that troll doll playing with his mind.

The Prince's eyes widened with glee at those words.

"Gladly! Last night, I gave the woman more pleasure with my hand alone than what you probably ever did with your, how do you Earthlings put it? Ah yes. Your limp dick." The look on that worm's face was absolutely perfect. He was sure that drove his point home.

"Vegeta!" Bulma was absolutely appalled at that asshole's gall. How the hell could he do that so callously? He had no right to announce their business in such a cruel manner! "What the hell is wrong with you?!

"I was only telling the truth, woman. Aren't you the one always preaching about honesty?"

Bulma fumed at his words. But her anger was nothing compared to her former lover's.

Yamcha was absolutely furious! He'd seen the slightly guilty look and panic on Bulma's face. Not to mention, she wouldn't allow Vegeta to lie about something so heinous. It was true. She'd betrayed him with Vegeta of all people. And that asshole had the nerve to stand there and laugh like he'd just been told the best joke ever! All the anger, anxiety and hurt that had formed inside him boiled together to form a raging inferno that demanded that the Saiyan Prince pay for his actions. Yamcha powered up a bit and charged Vegeta.

Unfortunately, Bulma chose that moment to stand in front of Vegeta while yelling at him in his smug face, her back partially towards Yamcha. Before he could stop himself, he ended up punching Bulma in her upper right arm, the force of it flinging her right into the Prince's chest before she fell to the ground, the bone in her arm badly broken. All of his anger left him at the sound of her pained cries. He fell to his knees before her, self loathing flooding his conscience.

"Kami! Bulma I'm so sorry! I don't know what I was thinking!"

The next thing he knew, he found himself landing with a hard thud on his back outside the house. He looked up to find Vegeta walking towards him, his aura pulsating with deadly menace.

Vegeta was seeing red after that human managed to hurt Bulma. It wasn't enough that he was so distracted that he didn't detect that imbecile powering up. The fact that Bulma got hurt in the process by that human's foolishness was unforgivable. The Prince grabbed him by the neck and tossed him out the house, his eyes glowing crimson with fury. He stalked towards the beta male with deadly intent all the while ignoring the woman's pleas to leave him be.

The idiot stood up, faced Vegeta and immediately crouched down into a fighting position.

It's on.

The warriors rushed toward each other before colliding in a flurry of punches and kicks. Yamcha punched the Prince in his gut, only to have him grab his arm and body slam him into the ground. He quickly recovered and rolled to the side, narrowly missing the fist that would've ground his head into the earth. Yamcha jumped into the air and fired a massive ki blast at his adversary, only for him to divert it into outer space, eventually exploding in it's cold depths. Vegeta followed the other male into the air and they resumed their battle.

Only it turned into a massacre as Vegeta stopped playing around and started attacking Yamcha seriously. The Prince punched the weakling straight in his nose, breaking the bone and Yamcha howled in pain. Never breaking stride he drove his fist into Yamcha's abdomen, causing him to spit out a huge gob of blood. He then used a slightly less powerful, but still effective, ki blast and fired it at his foe, causing him to plunge right into the earth.

Yamcha felt like every bone in his body was shattered. When had Vegeta become so strong? It was insane. He felt him land softly on the ground next to him and he forced his eyes open to face his executioner.

Vegeta spat to the side and looked down at the broken male on the ground. He sneered in disgust. The fool even failed at trying to avenge his nonexistent dignity. Before he could make another move, a shrill voice in the air stopped him.

"That is enough!" Bulma had made it to those two fighters before the brute decided to kill Yamcha. Again. She pushed Vegeta out of the way and knelt down next to her friend.

"Yamcha, are you okay?! He didn't hurt you too bad did he?!" He could only shake his head slightly but even that little move hurt like a bitch. He really got his ass handed to him. What was he thinking?

"Come on, I'll get you patched right up in the infirmary." Bulma tried to help him up with her good arm, only for him to pull away. She frowned in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"I'd rather not be here any longer than I want to." His pride took a beating today. He was utterly humiliated. He lost his girl to that monster and he wasn't even strong enough to get his vengeance. No, he just wanted to leave at that moment. He used his remaining strength to stand up as tall as he could. He looked at Bulma one more time, hurt and bitterness present in his eyes. "Take care of yourself Bulma." He looked at the monkey prince with venom shooting out of his eyes before taking to the sky and flying away. He'd go to the hospital to get a quick patch up then he'd go back to the desert. He wouldn't be back for a while and this time he meant it.

Bulma felt her heart clench as she watched Yamcha fly away. She really regretted the way things turned out.

"Hmph. Good riddance."

Oh that dick! That was it!

She slowly turned to face Vegeta with her anger very present on her countenance. "Just what the fuck did you think you were doing telling Yamcha what happened?! It wasn't your place to say so, and in such a cruel manner too!"

Vegeta felt his satisfaction at the male's departure dwindle as the woman bitched at him. She always knew how to ruin the moment!

"Quit your screeching, you harpy! I still need my hearing! Are you honestly siding with the worm who injured you?!"

"Newsflash dipshit! He wasn't aiming for me! He was going for you! He was angry and understandably so!" Bulma felt tears form in her eyes before they fell down her cheeks. All the guilt she hadn't felt before suddenly came rushing at her like a tsunami and she was powerless to stop it. She didn't want to stop it, she deserved this feeling. Who in the world just cheats on their significant other and claims to feel nothing?! She carried on her tirade, her voice cracking as she spoke.

"He had every right to feel as pissed off and betrayed as he did because that's what happened. I broke his trust the moment I kissed you back and let you touch me!"

Vegeta tried to intervene, only to have Bulma slash her hand in front of him, silencing him before he could speak. "You've said enough for one day. It's my time right now. Ever since you first expressed your attraction to me in the lab all those months ago, it's been a constant roller coaster of mixed signals and mind games. Only it all boiled to you wanting me as your 'mate' or whatever! I'm so tired of the constant back and forth between us that leaves me unable to tell which way is left and which is right! And to top it all off, I ended up with a broken arm courtesy of your callous statements!"

Her voice suddenly became soft and weak, so defeated that he could feel the sadness in her next statement.

"Worst of all, Yamcha ended up with a broken heart. I know that my feelings for him have faded away, but that doesn't mean I still don't feel terrible about how it ended. He got hurt more than he probably bargained for and I hate it." She looked up at him, her face contorted in sadness, her usually crystal blue eyes now teary, red rimmed and filled with pain. It made his gut clench and he felt an unfamiliar pinch in his heart. The feeling only deepened when she said, "This is my fault as much as it is yours. But now, I wish that you'd never come near me last night. Do me a favour and just….stay away from me."

With that, she turned around and left, leaving Vegeta standing alone in the decimated yard while she went to cast her arm in the infirmary.

Vegeta could only stand as still as a statue, watching her walk away with a blank expression on his face. He had no words for what just happened. He was expecting her to be a wild ball of anger and fire. She was in the beginning but then it eventually gave way to something else entirely. Something he wasn't expecting.

_Defeat_.

She looked defeated. Could it really be true that he was the cause of it all? Just remembering her pained and tired expression made the pinch in his heart feel even worse. Whatever that feeling was, he didn't like it. He wanted it to go away. But how was the question.

Well, there was _one_ way….

The Prince growled in irritation at the idea in his head. He hated it, he really did but it seemed like the best way to get rid of that unwanted emotion. The sooner he gets it done, the sooner he can focus on his goal to achieve Super Saiyan again.

_'You better appreciate this pain-in-the-ass mate of mine!' _

Women! They were all trouble, no matter the race!

Vegeta turned towards his destination and flew off. He had a mission to complete.

* * *

Bulma had just made it back to her room after her visit to the infirmary. She had some X-rays of her arm taken and she was a bit unnerved at the picture that showed up on the screen. It was a miracle the bone was still inside her arm and not sticking out of her flesh. That's how bad the break was. Luckily there was no one there except the medic bots so nobody questioned how she got her arm so badly broken. Somehow, she didn't think 'I fell down the stairs' sounded like a good enough excuse.

After getting her arm in a cast (decorated with plump strawberry stickers to help lift up her mood) she decided to head back to her room so she could rest a bit. She'd had a really long emotional day, not to mention the painkillers were wickedly strong, so she believed she earned that nap. Bulma pulled back the covers and was about to climb in when her door suddenly opened up and in walked the one person she really didn't want to see at that moment. She sighed in resignation.

"Vegeta, I thought I told you I didn't want to see you right now. I just came from the infirmary and I'm higher than a beach bunny on cocaine at a party so if you could just…" Her voice trailed off as he came nearer.

Just what was he up to?

He came to a halt before her and gently took her uninjured hand in his. He maneuvered her palm to face upwards before dropping something in it. She glanced down and let out a little gasp at the sight. A senzu bean. How in the world…

Bulma looked into his eyes, a feeling of pleasant surprise flooding her being. He gazed back at her intently, an unknown emotion swirling around in his eyes. Then he merely turned and left, closing the door on his way out. He hadn't said a word the whole time he was here.

He didn't need to.

When it came to Vegeta, actions spoke louder than words. He got her a senzu bean which meant that he had to have spoken to one of the Z warriors about where to find some. Most likely Goku cause he was a bit closer to her than the others. The fact that he was able to bite down on his hatred for her best friend long enough to get her a bean to heal her meant a lot more than anyone would ever understand.

Bulma slid the bean in her mouth and chewed, the slightly bitter taste caused to make a small face before she felt the magic do its work. She could feel her arm mending itself together again. It was a warm and pleasant feeling. A moment later she felt more invigorated than she'd ever been. This was great! She'd need to learn to grow some herself.

She still wanted that nap though.

The heiress slid into her covers before pulling them up to her chin. She let out a content sigh and burrowed deeper into the blankets.

'_Maybe there's hope for the bullheaded Prince after all.'_

The moment her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep with a happy little smile on her face.

* * *

**_Author's Note:_** Damn. That was rough. At least in my head it was. The break up was pretty hard but it had to be done. I felt kinda sorry for Yamcha though. That had to hurt. I also figured it was time I knocked our favourite Saiyan off his pedestal and humbled him. I mean, he can't always have it his way lol. It's time he earned the key to Bulma's heart.

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I wanna give a huge shout out to RoyalBlueRoses for your wonderful review for the last chapter. Thank you so much! And thank you guys for reading my story. You guys always make my day! Don't forget to R and R. Until next time my dudes! RR18 .


	8. Choices

**_Chapter 8_**

Vegeta sat with his eyes closed, his back to the wall in the gravity room, one leg kicked out while the other was bent upwards with his arm resting on his knee.

He just trained for six hours at three hundred and fifty times gravity. His body showed it was less than impressed with him for that, sporting numerous bruises and cuts from his ki blasts. Well his body could shove it for all he cared but since he needed it to become a Super Saiyan, he had no choice but to rest for a bit.

The Prince's face contorted into a slight grimace after that thought passed. He was beginning to think that he was going backwards in his training instead of forwards. Everytime he thought he'd finally reached his goal it would constantly slip through his fingers, taunting him with his inability to transform. It was aggravating to say the least. Just what in the world was he supposed to do?! He was getting really sick of lingering in between almost reaching his goal and falling flat on his ass when he couldn't.

Vegeta was running out of ideas. He needed to figure out what he had to do and fast. Time was not on his side. Then again, when had anything in his life ever been on his side?

Unlike his only remaining subordinate, nothing in the Prince's life had come easily to him. He'd had to work to get everything he needed to survive. But he never bowed his head in submission when life decided to add more difficulty to his already crappy existence. He may have been beaten until he shed unholy amounts of blood but he did it with pride. Even when that disgusting lizard forced him to kneel down before him, he never bowed his head, always looking him straight in his eyes with his Saiyan pride showing itself in all its stubborn glory. It was his defiance against the lizard lord, showing him that he was the true ruler among them.

Vegeta felt a small smirk cross his visage. That little display never ended well for him everytime he did it but damn did it feel good to see the anger in Frieza's eyes when he crossed him. Granted he always ended up in the infirmary or in the isolation chamber if the punishment was really severe but he would always do it again.

He chuckled at the memories running through his mind, only to stop abruptly when he felt a sharp pain in his side. He felt the area around his ribs and pressed slightly, scowling at the increase in pain that he felt.

He'd bruised his ribs. Wonderful.

If the woman were here, she would've been going on and on about how she should be taking regular breaks and how his 'insane monkey ass' was going to end up dead if he didn't. Speaking of the woman….

After their spat two weeks ago he noticed a small change where she was concerned. Ever since he'd brought her a senzu bean from the third class warrior (he still couldn't get over the stupid grin that came over the idiot's face when he paid him a 'visit'), he had become more subtle in his approach to her. That wasn't to say he was a complete pansy, showering her with flowers and useless declarations, he refused to stop to her former mates level. He did, however, give her the "space to think" she always whined about. The Prince decided to turn things around and do what he never thought he would never, ever do.

He was giving Bulma the power to decide. Vegeta knew that the woman was as stubborn as he was. Just as proud too. She preferred to be in control of her surroundings. His approach had shook her world on its axis, throwing her off her game. So he decided to be generous (his version of generous anyway), _just this once_, and wait for her to come to him. If she doesn't, which he knew wasn't possible, then he'd leave her be and put all his focus on his training again. If she does….well…

It was going to be night to remember, that's for sure. The first of many.

The nonverbal cues didn't stop though. He still looked at her with lust burning in his obsidian eyes.

But he wasn't the only one that had changed a small bit.

For the past few days, the woman had started looking at him with a new softness in her sapphire gaze. It was an entirely new emotion that he hadn't seen before, never mind having directed at him. That foreign emotion in her eyes did something to him. Whenever she directed that gaze at him, he would feel something in him respond, like a magnet looking for its opposite so they could come together. He wasn't sure he liked that feeling. It was dangerous.

For a warrior like Vegeta, having warm and fuzzy emotions is considered careless and quite foolish. Those kinds of feelings could be used against you by your enemies. They didn't even have to be stronger than you. They just needed some sort of leverage to get what they wanted from the people they were threatening.

Even then there was no guarantee that the person they used against you would live afterwards. He would know, he's used that method of extracting information multiple times. His hostages never lived to see the light of day afterwards, no matter how much he swore he'd let them live.

Now here he was, experiencing the type of emotions he had no business feeling. They would only weaken him and slow him down. Vegeta dragged his hand down his face before pinching the bridge of his nose.

He was giving himself a headache with all this nonsense flying around unchecked in his head. Saiyan matings didn't deal with things as frivolous as feelings. They were impractical. The mighty Saiyan race didn't need something like feelings to guide them.

_'But they're not around anymore. It's just you and that idiot Kakarot. You're the crown Prince, finally free from that slimy lizards clutches. Shouldn't you be allowed to do whatever you want now?'_

Damn traitorous thoughts.

Vegeta's internal conflict was interrupted when he felt the reason for his troubles coming towards the chamber. He released a sigh of irritation and stood up, waiting for her to make her intentions known.

* * *

"Okay, what's next? Gravity controller. I need to increase the level of gravity in the chamber. That'll require me to check if the panels along the walls of the room are strong enough to withstand the added strain…."

For the past few days, Bulma had been working on projects that needed her attention for the company. There was a high demand in high storage capsules and they had needed to produce more. Now that production had been set in motion, she paid more attention to her smaller personal projects in her lab.

Right now she was busy with the latest upgrades for the gravity room. She was going to increase the gravity from three hundred and fifty to four hundred and fifty. To be honest, she was loathe to add more gravity to the chamber. She worried that Vegeta would end up hurting himself. He was getting angry with his lack of progress and in his volatile state, he would jump straight to the highest setting and injure himself.

One might question why she was so concerned with her sporadic houseguest's wellbeing. In the beginning she would've said it was because he was a vital part in the upcoming fight against the androids and they needed him alive, nothing else. Now though, things were different.

When Bulma had woken up from her drug induced nap after visiting the infirmary, she had frowned in confusion, wondering why there wasn't at least a dull, throbbing pain in her arm. She'd been shocked when she remembered that, of all people, Vegeta had gotten her a senzu bean. That shock turned into pleasant surprise and gratitude. She usually didn't feel grateful for a lot in her life considering her social status, but at that moment it wrapped around her like a warm, fluffy blanket. It may not seem like something big, after all it was just a little bean, but for someone as self-interested as him, it meant the world. It was his way of apologising for what happened. Of course he would never tell her the words. He'd rather chew on his wrist till he got to the bone. It didn't matter though, his actions were enough.

Now that she thought about it, he had been awfully considerate these past couple of weeks. He didn't get all up in her personal space as much as he did before. His domineering attitude wasn't as intense as it was before. One might be tempted to say that he was being nice to her.

Although he still argued with her regularly and they engaged in verbal sparring. That never changed and she had a feeling it never would, no matter what.

Another thing that didn't change was his desire for her. It still burned like a black fire in his eyes. Yet he never acted on it. He just kept his distance from her but still scorched her with his gaze across the room.

Of course she also wanted him, no doubt about it. But there's just one problem.

She feared he wouldn't be able to give her what she needed emotionally.

Bulma instinctively knew that the Prince would have no problem satisfying her physically. Hell, she'd gotten a taste of that and already knew the sex between them would be mind blowing, but that wasn't the issue.

Vegeta was a man whose emotions were about as cold and impenetrable as a wall of ice. He shut himself off from any form of positive emotion, instead relying on negative emotions like anger and hatred to keep him going. She was pretty sure the only positive thing he felt was passion, but even that had its downsides.

It would be impossible to get him to open himself up to her, an outright challenge.

Bulma suddenly sported a very Vegeta-like smirk at the thought. It's a good thing she likes challenges and this would prove to be her biggest one yet. It may take a long time to overcome that challenge, possibly years of heartache and bickering between them, but it was a challenge she was willing to take.

"And….done! That was easy. Now to go and install this bad boy. I just hope that idiot doesn't overdo it."

Bulma donned her overalls just in case she needed to get down and dirty, took her toolbox and made for the gravity chamber. She couldn't help but let out a little laugh on the way there. _'Who would've ever thought that I'd end up considering having Vegeta as my boyfriend. Nah that word's too childish for someone like him. How about a partner? Hmmm, maybe. Whatever.'_

She shrugged off her thoughts and knocked on the door to the GR. A few seconds later, it slid open to reveal the Prince in all his arrogant glory. She would've commented on his ripped abs glistening with sweat if she hadn't noticed the bruises and cuts covering his body.

"For fucks sake Vegeta, what did you do to yourself?!"

Vegeta scowled in irritation at her question. Wasn't it obvious? "I was training at three hundred and fifty times gravity for six hours. This is the result."

"You call this training?! This is madness, that's what it is. How many times do I have to tell you to take it easy once in a while?!" She couldn't believe his stubbornness. She firmly believed he was on a suicide mission.

He scoffed at her questions. Really she was quite simple at times. "Not that it concerns you but a Saiyan only gets stronger the more he injures himself. I wouldn't expect you to understand when all you do is sit in your lab playing with your toys all day." He never got enough of baiting her. Just watching her skin flush with anger and her eyes spark with blue flames always amused him to no end.

_'Deep breaths Bulma. Deep breaths. What a jackass!'_ She ought to slap that smug look off his face. She exhaled heavily, trying to bring her temper down. "If you're done being an asshole, I have upgrades ready for the gravity room. Although with your attitude, I have a good mind to just turn around and go back." That little threat worked because he stepped to the side with his mouth shut and a nasty scowl directed at her. '_Bulma one, Princey none!'_

"How long will these upgrades take before the chamber is ready for use again?" He wanted to get back at it again. His skin was itching, betraying his anxiety to get back to training.

"Well depending on the strength of the skeleton and the panels of the chamber, it could take either half an hour or a whole day." She turned to face him and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. He was suddenly pale with his eyes wide. It seems like the idea of waiting a whole day was less than pleasant to say the least.

She walked to the wall, making sure her back faced the Prince while she laughed silently. She took a screwdriver from her toolbox and opened one panel. While she set about examining the strength of the room, she thought it best to get some answers from Vegeta. "So explain to me in detail what this whole 'mating' business is about."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow at her inquiry. He certainly wasn't expecting that. But he decided to go along with it, if only to pass the time. "It's quite simple really. A male and a female come together, they fuck and-"

"Vegeta!" Bulma whirled her head around to face him. She was about to say something to reprimand him when she saw the amused smirk on his face. _'Did he just make a joke? I'll be damned. Who knew he had it in him.'_ She laughed softly and got back to work while responding. "C'mon, be serious. I really wanna know."

He crossed his arms and delved into his knowledge of mating so the woman could finally understand why he was so attracted to her. "Very well. Saiyans do things differently compared to Earthlings. One of them is mating. How it works is each person has a predestined mate for them in their life. It's an unavoidable bond that grows in time. You only need to see the person before your body begins to react."

"Interesting. And how do they react after finding their mates?"

"Maybe if you don't interrupt me I'd tell you." The Prince rolled his eyes. Honestly, she couldn't keep it shut for two minutes before mouthing off. She looked at him with a frown before giving him a 'hmph'. He took that as a sign to continue.

"The first thing is physical attraction. Usually something about the person would catch the others attention. In your case it was your odd colouring that managed to grab mine. The next would be strength. While this isn't really relevant for the bond, it does help when your future mate has some strength to speak of. Of course yours is laughable at best but hey, we can't always have it our way can we?"

Bulma merely rolled her eyes at that quip. Saiyans or Earthlings, it doesn't matter. Men always wanna beat at their chests to show how strong they are. She closed the panel and walked towards the control unit. "Before you carry on your amazing story, the chamber checks out as strong enough to hold the upgrades. I just need to install the programme into the computer. It shouldn't take too long." She slipped the chip in and worked her magic on the keypad. When she was done she turned to face the man behind her. "Okay, what else?"

She was expecting him to be annoyed that she interrupted him again. Instead a seductive smirk graced his face. She felt her temperature rise at the heated look in his eyes.

"The best for last. Sexual attraction." Vegeta couldn't help that his voice had become husky. It worked to his advantage since he saw the woman's pupils dilate with desire. "It's in the way your blood starts to boil when you think of all the ways you could conquer your mate. The erotic dreams, the fantasizing. It's also in their scent. When they're aroused, you can practically taste it in the air. Just like right now."

He gave her a wolfish grin when she realised he was talking about her. _'Oh yes woman. I can always smell it when you want me to fuck you. You should accept that there'll be no hiding it from me.'_

Bulma felt her heart speed up with the look Vegeta was giving her._ 'Kami, he looks like he wants to eat me alive.' _She blushed prettily when she thought of how he _could_ eat her._ 'Oh my…'_

In the blink of an eye, he'd gone from standing across the room to right in front of her. There was barely a hair's width of space between them. He lowered his head to her neck, taking in her sweet scent. He exhaled, his hot breath hitting her neck, causing her to shudder with want. He smiled lasciviously against her skin. It never ceases to amaze him how quickly he could turn her into a puddle with his actions and small touches alone.

The Prince raised his head up and looked into her oceanic eyes. The lust in her gaze threatened to send him out of control. "All those factors I mentioned are what happens when a Saiyan finds their mate."

Bulma gulped audibly, trying to clear her fuzzy head. "B-But I'm a human and so is Chi-Chi. So how did it work with us since we're not Saiyan?"

"I'm not too sure. I guess it all boils down to animal attraction. We'll never truly know the answer." Vegeta slowly ran his tongue along his bottom lip and held back a smirk when he saw the woman's lips part at the action. Yes, she certainly felt the pull between them, regardless of the fact that she's human. He started to think that even if Planet Vegeta hadn't been destroyed and he was there ruling his people, he still would've wanted her if she'd managed to find her way there.

"There have been instances where people chose not to acknowledge the bond." She raised her eyebrow at that statement. Her question was clear: what happened to them? "They became more aggressive and volatile. Reckless when it came to battle. It was all to try and ignore the inevitable. Needless to say they always ended up dead, be it by their own hand or someone else's."

Bulma nodded her head. She understood everything a lot better now. Except for one small thing. "So you've accepted that there is a bond between us."

It wasn't a question but he answered anyway. "Yes, of course."

"So why don't you act on it?" That's where her confusion lies. If everything he said was fact then why didn't he do something about it? Kami knew she wouldn't stop him.

Vegeta just smirked deviously and said, "I don't know, why don't you tell me Woman?"

Oh no, they were not doing this again. "Bullshit you don't know! You're not telling me on purpose!"

"You're right." The look on her face was priceless. She looked downright murderous, throwing blue flames at him with her searing gaze. He chuckled a little before carrying on. "I'm not telling you why. You need to figure it out on your own. It's not that difficult. I'm sure even your genius brain can figure it out."

Before she could retaliate, the computer beeped, indicating its completion. She turned to face it, her back brushing against his chest._ 'I remember how it felt when he laid on top of me. Solid and warm.' _She managed to suppress a shiver at the thought._ 'Focus girl! Otherwise he'll call you out! Have you already forgotten that his nose can probably smell you from three miles away?'_

She turned to explain the upgrades to him. Her breath hitched when she saw the look he was giving her. This man was bad for her health. "You can now go up to four hundred and fifty times gravity." She raised her hand just as he was about to speak. "Don't abuse it! I'll be monitoring you from my lab. If I find you doing too much too soon, I'll turn it down manually. Got it?"

_Always. Managed. To ruin. Everything._

The Prince narrowed his eyes at her before nodding minutely. He wouldn't let her control his training. He'd find a way around her petty threat.

Bulma packed up her toolbox and headed towards the door, leaving Vegeta to his daily torture session. Before she left entirely he called for her attention.

"Bulma." She closed her eyes as his rich baritone voice wove its way through her. Damn, it never fails to get her heart going when he uses her name. She turned to face him._ '_

_Deja vu moment. We've been here before.'_

"I trust you got the answers you were seeking."

"I did. Except for the one you won't tell me." His games were getting really old. Really fast.

Vegeta tilted his head to the side, a seemingly innocent look on his face. "I told you, you know the answer. You just need to figure it out. Let me know when you do." He gave her his back, suddenly interested in exploring the work she did.

And so, Bulma sighed and walked out into the afternoon sun. It was a really pretty day despite being a little chilly. Looks like Autumn was on its way. She entered her home and went straight for her room to change into more comfortable clothing. She put on blue jeans and a black t-shirt before going to the living room. She wanted to relax a bit and mindless TV seemed the perfect way to do it.

* * *

After dinner with her family, Bulma decided to have an early night. She changed into her silk nightgown and sat at her massive vanity and brushed out her hair. Her thoughts went back to her conversation with Vegeta earlier in the day.

_"I don't know, why don't you tell me Woman?" _

Why would he say that? He obviously knows why he's keeping his distance but she couldn't see why. It was really beginning to irk her.

"I mean why is this so difficult to figure out? Okay. Let's take a step back and see what's missing."

He'd kept his distance from her for two weeks. But not in a way that showed he was avoiding her. Some days they would have civil, even pleasant conversations about anything and everything. Of course those conversations inevitably ended in argument but it was fun. He challenged her intellectually, keeping her on her toes every step of the way. It was refreshing to finally find someone besides her father who could keep up with her when she spoke.

Sometimes when he found her busy with work for the company, most likely building a machine of some kind, he would ask what she was making and she would explain. He followed along with her interpretations. He even asked questions that showed he understood what she was saying! Yamcha's eyes would always glaze over and he would zone out. Vegeta actually listened. Then, true to his nature, he would demand something from her and ruin the mood. But still, the feeling of being acknowledged lingered.

Bulma felt her heart begin to flutter the more she thought about his behaviour around her lately.

She remembered when she was busy with the projects that needed completing for the corporation, he would walk into the lab, obviously looking for her. She couldn't help but smile remembering a small moment they had.

* * *

_Bulma was absolutely swamped with half completed projects and the tide just wouldn't stop. How in the hell she let her work pile up to this degree she'll never know. She pushed her personal projects to the side and focused on company issues. Mainly the fault with the large storage capsules designed to hold large objects._

_She was busy looking at the blueprint for the capsules, trying to find the fault in the formula, when she heard a voice boom across the lab._

_"Woman! Where in the hell are you?!"_

_She groaned in irritation. Could he not, for one fucking day, just leave her in peace? She had more important things to worry about._

_"What do you want from me, your Royal Irritation?! I'm busy!"_

_Vegeta rounded a corner and found her leaning over a work station presumably looking at…something. Whatever it was, it could take a back seat. He had more pressing issues that needed dealing with._

_"The gravity won't go higher than one hundred times gravity. It's impeding my training and I demand you fix it immediately!"_

_That brat! How dare he come in here demanding things from her like she was his lackey?! She'd give him a piece of her mind. She raised her head and looked at him with indignation written across her face._

_"Listen here you big oaf! I'm working on a deadline here and I don't have the time to deal with your childish demands. Why don't you take this time to take a break and leave me alone?!"_

_Bulma suddenly felt a bit faint and held onto the station before she fell over. Vegeta noticed this and decided to speak up._

_"What the hell is your problem? Is your weak body taking too much strain from staring at a piece of paper?"_

_He didn't get the fiery look or the snide comment he was fishing for. Instead she sighed with exhaustion._

_"Not that you'd care but I'm spent. I've been working for 50 hours and I've barely taken a break. I need to get this work done before the deadline."_

_Now that he really paid attention, he noticed the dark circles under her eyes. He felt for her ki. It was as he suspected. Her ki was lower than usual, signaling her exhaustion. If she keeps this up she'll collapse. He mentally rolled his eyes. Humans were so weak. But he did silently commend her for her commitment to her work._

_"Woman, take a break." He snickered at the look she gave him at those words. You'd swear he just told her that black ball of fur that was always riding on her father's shoulder had just died. "This deadline of yours can wait. You obviously need sustenance and rest now. Your frail human body can't take the strain, no matter how stubborn your mind is. You won't be able to work if you fall over and I need you alive. Go and take care of yourself. I can always ask your father for assistance."_

_She could only stare at his back as he walked out. "Well I'll be. Was that concern he just showed?" Bulma felt a smile come across her face. Vegeta actually showed concern for her health. He may have masked it to suit his needs but she saw right through it. She felt her heart flutter with an emotion she'd rather not put a name to right now._

_The heiress put her blueprints down and stretched her sore arms above her head. Some food and sleep did sound appealing right now. On her way to her room she passed by her father._

_"Bulma dear, why didn't you tell me you were starting to get tired? I know you want to do things by yourself but I am here to help you. I'm just going to fix the glitch in the GR then I'll take care of the work while you rest. You've certainly earned it darling." With that, the good doctor walked to the lab to get his tools. He was honestly very proud of his daughter and her stellar work ethic but she needed to slow down._

_Normally a move like that would infuriate Bulma. Instead she felt touched. That oaf tried to hide it with gruff words but it seemed he was worried about her. Let it never be known that Vegeta was worried about someone other than himself._

_"You never fail to amaze me Vegeta." She continued the trek to her room. A bubble bath suddenly sounded amazing right about now._

* * *

Bulma shook her head at the memory, her smile still in place. That man sure was something.

So what did it all mean?

He still threw her lustful looks whenever he was around but that's where it ended. You'd swear she had told him to stay away from her.

Wait.

Her eyes widened in realisation. She had told him to stay away from her that day after the accident. And he has been all this time. But not in the way that she'd think. So he's been making his interest known but he hasn't acted on it like before. All of his actions these past two weeks have had genuine intentions behind them that had her falling for him more with each passing day. So-

"Oh my Kami. I don't believe it." How could she have been so blind? He made sure she knew he still wanted her but he kept to himself.

He was giving her a choice.

She put her brush down and looked at herself in the mirror. She smiled softly, her heart warming at her epiphany.

Prince Vegeta, the most arrogant, domineering, self centered and prideful man she had ever known, was giving her the power to decide what she wanted. For someone as controlling as him, this was a BIG deal.

If this didn't help her cement her decision then she didn't know what would.

Bulma heard Vegeta's bedroom door close and the shower turn on a few moments later. She took one last look into the mirror, winked at her reflection with a smile and left her room, heading to the Prince's with confidence.

She's denied them both for long enough. Bulma bit her lip, her body alight with salacious excitement. She added an extra swing to her hips, feeling feminine and powerful at that moment.

Tonight, Bulma Briefs was going to claim her mate.

_I'm ready, Vegeta._

* * *

**_Author's Note: _**Hmmmm. It's safe to say that my brain is mush right now. That was a lot to jot. Ha, that rhymes. It's getting hot between our favourite couple. Are they really about to take that big step in their relationship? Or will I cock block them yet again? Decisions, decisions. I'm having way too much fun with this.

So because we've officially been on lockdown for about 4 days where I live, I'm not gonna be at work or varsity for a while now so I have all the free time in the world. Yay!

Anyway, I hope everyone is keeping safe and staying at home. Please stay home guys! Pray for our doctors and nurses who are literally doing the most right now. They're putting their lives on the line for us and I salute every last one of them all across the world. If you're one of them, all I can say is thank you so much for your service. The world will never forget your bravery and courage for doing what the rest of us can't. I will never forget it. Thank you.

As always, a big thank you to RoyalBlueRoses and Becky L Sly for your reviews. Peace, love and pixie dust to you guys! Please R and R. I love you my dudes. Stay safe! Until next time! RR18


	9. Instincts

**_Chapter 9_**

Vegeta stood with his eyes closed under the stream of scalding hot water in the shower, letting all the sweat and blood from the day's gruelling training sessions, thanks to the woman's upgrade in the level of gravity he could utilise, disappear down the drain.

Despite the water doing enough to relax his tense muscles, he can't help but notice that the shift in the air hasn't changed. Since leaving the gravity chamber a little while ago his senses have been on high alert. His instincts were warning him about the electricity in the air. He was anticipating something, what it was though, he wasn't sure.

His eyes snapped open when he felt the woman's ki moving down the hallway in the direction of his room. He kept his focus on her, curious about where she was heading.

_'Where could she be off to right now? The woman's probably going to that lab of hers.' _

So it was safe to say he was fairly surprised when he felt her stop in front of his door. Now he was really paying close attention, waiting patiently for her to make her next move. He didn't have to wait too long as he felt her enter his room a moment later and stop somewhere close to his bed.

_'Well, what do you know?'_

If he could see his reflection at that moment, he would have seen that his trademark smirk was wide and downright predatory. So it seems that the woman has made her choice. That would explain the anticipation he was thinking about earlier. The time has finally come for him to end the hunt and to claim his prey once and for all.

_'You'll get one chance to change your mind. After that, there'll be no turning back little one.' _He mused to himself internally.

Vegeta turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He wrapped a white towel around his hips before using his ki to dry himself, turned the bathroom light off and walked out the door into the darkness of his room. His superior eyesight allowed him to see everything clear as day without the assistance of illumination.

He saw the woman seated on the edge of his bed with her legs crossed and her arms spread to the side with both her palms resting on the bed. Her pale skin was bathed in the light of the partially full moon, giving her an almost ethereal glow.

He stalked towards her while addressing her with a deceptive softness in his voice. "Well aren't you feeling bold, waltzing into my room unannounced."

Bulma cocked an eyebrow, keeping her eyes locked on Vegeta's as he walked towards her. "Well I wasn't going to stand outside your door waiting for you to finish in the shower. That's a bit too weird, even for me."

The Prince shook his head minutely, deciding to cut straight to the point. "I assume that your presence here has to do with our little talk in the afternoon."

She nodded her agreement. "Yeah, it is. No thanks to you, it took me a while before I figured out what you wouldn't tell me." Bulma stood from her seat at the edge of the bed and walked forward to meet him. "I must say Vegeta, you really surprised me when I realised that you were giving me the chance to choose whether or not I wanted to go forward with this."

Vegeta grunted his response, fighting to keep his arms at his sides. She had stopped less than an arm's length from him but he wasn't going to touch her until she said the words. "And what, pray tell, did you end up choosing?"

She simply smiled at him while slowly running the tips of her fingers up his arms, stepping close enough to him that she could feel his body heat but not enough to touch him yet. "I decided that I wanted to give it a go. I had enough of denying what was right in front of me."

Vegeta's lips twitched slightly in amusement at that. "And now, you're certain about your choice?"

Bulma nodded slowly, her voice husky with want. "I've never lived my life asking myself 'what if' and 'what could have been' and I'm not going to start now. So yeah, I'd say I'm pretty sure about it."

If he hadn't been paying attention, he would've missed the slight tensing of the woman's body before she tried to jump him. He caught her arms just before they managed to wrap around his neck. "Nuh uh uh, not so fast woman."

The surprise on her face at his fast movement made him laugh a little. "Now who gave you permission to do that, hm?" Out there in her world, she may rule over her work force but in here, he called the shots.

The woman's eyes widened when she caught on to his train of thought. He grinned wolfishly at her deer-in-headlights expression before moving his face closer to hers, leaving only a hair's width of space between them. "Really, all you have to do is ask and I'll happily oblige. For now…" He pulled her forward by her arms and kissed her. He licked her bottom lip, they parted with a small gasp and he wasted no time sliding into her hot mouth.

_'I almost forgot what a good kisser he is.'_ Bulma felt her eyes roll to the back of her head before closing. She eagerly responded to Vegeta's soft yet passionate kiss.

The Prince slowly walked her towards his bed, never breaking their kiss, all the while moving her arms behind her back and holding them there by her wrists. When he felt her knees bump the edge, he broke for air and pushed her onto her back. He knelt on her side and gripped her upper arms to move her to the centre, laying on top of her as he did.

"Place your arms above your head." He commanded softly. She obliged immediately, which surprised her a bit. "Don't move." He slowly slid down her body, letting his lips trail over her clothed chest and abdomen before standing to his full height.

Vegeta was certain that if he still had a tail, it would've unwound itself from his waist and start softly swaying side to side. Seeing the woman lying there, his to do with as he pleased, it was a heady feeling.

He locked his gaze with Bulma's as he lit a kernel of ki on the tip of his index finger. He hovered above her and put his illuminated finger at the top of her nightgown. He smirked deviously before slowly sliding his finger down the centre of her body, ripping her dress along the way, leaving her in her black lace panties.

Bulma gasped when she heard the fabric of her dress come apart. She looked down to see it split down the middle. She frowned and looked up at Vegeta, about to give him an earful about ruining her clothes, only to stop short at the sight above her.

_'Oh….my….'_

The Prince's eyes were glowing a dark crimson, his bloody gaze intent on her sapphire eyes. She started breathing heavily at the sight, her exposed nipples becoming erect with excitement. Vegeta's smirk grew at her reaction, exposing his slightly elongated fangs. She swallowed a whimper upon seeing them, feeling her body clench in anticipation.

_'Is he a vampire or something?'_

He kept his eyes on the woman as he slowly ran his tongue over his canines. Her breath caught in her throat at the action, causing him to smile evilly at the sound.

Bulma tried to clear the fog in her brain so she could ask him about his appearance, not that she was complaining about it. "W-why did your eyes and teeth change?"

Vegeta dipped his head and placed hot open mouthed kisses in the crook of her neck and took a deep breath inhaling her sweet scent. She moaned softly and brought her arms down with one hand in his hair and the other on his back as she slightly arched up and rubbed her hips against his to try and find some sort of relief.

He stopped and moved a bit out of reach above her.

Bulma looked up at him, confusion shining in her eyes. "Why'd you stop?"

He 'tsked' softly and shook his head at her. "Firstly, I thought I told you not to move. Don't you remember what happened last time you moved?" She narrowed her eyes at him, telling him without words that she recalled it perfectly. "Second, on my appearance you asked about." Her eyes lit up with poorly veiled interest.

Vegeta gave her a devilish smile before laying on top of her and whispered to her in a dark, captivating voice. "In simple terms, my Oozaru demands that I fuck you until you don't know any other name besides my own."

_'This man is a crime against all womankind.'_

Any comment Bulma was going to make was instantly forgotten as Vegeta crushed his lips to hers, kissing her with a passion so hot, she felt her temperature rise to a point she thought she would spontaneously combust.

The Prince moved his lips to her neck, littered it with kisses and licked at the skin. She sighed at the pleasurable feelings he was giving her. He grabbed her wrists, placed them above her head again and squeezed them a bit in warning. She got the message: Stay still.

Vegeta kissed and licked a trail down her chest while rubbing his hips against hers. Thanks to her thin panties, she felt the evidence of his arousal right by her bundle of nerves in between her legs, the towel he was still wearing adding the extra delicious friction.

He reached her breasts and licked a circle around her areola with the tip of his tongue, just missing the place where she really wanted it to be. He bit her nipple lightly and pulled before sucking it into his mouth at the same time he pinched her other nipple. Bulma whimpered, panting softly and trying desperately not to move her arms. Hell, she wasn't taking chances with her legs either cause she really didn't want him to stop what he was doing.

_'He's barely touched me and I'm already a withering mess. This isn't fair.'_ She whined internally.

He repeated the action on the other side, licking, biting and sucking until both her nipples were red and swollen. Bulma felt like she was losing her mind when she felt him continue his journey down her body. She was so lost in her pleasure that she didn't register him pulling her panties down her legs and then spreading them wider until she felt his finger slide down her slit. She involuntarily bucked her hips when she felt him lightly circle her clit.

Vegeta was taken aback by how wet she was already and they'd barely even started. He took a deep breath and groaned lightly after taking in the scent of her desire. Sweet yet musky. He raised his eyes and watched her. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted as she panted for breath. His smile was absolutely wicked before he dipped his head and lightly flicked his tongue against her bundle of nerves.

Bulma moaned softly and opened her eyes to look down at the Prince. He must have been waiting for that because he then spread her lips open and went in for the kill. Her head fell back against the pillows and she whimpered while gripping the sheets above her. She couldn't believe how good he was making her feel.

_'This man should win a medal with how skilled he is with just his mouth.' _

She was dying just keeping her arms above her head. She wanted to touch him! "Vegeta…" she whined. He raised his eyes and read the plea in her gaze. He narrowed his eyes in dark amusement before telling her what she did, and didn't, want to hear.

"Woman, if you want to touch me, all you have to do is _ask_." Oh her face was a picture right now.

"No way, not happening." Just who did he think he was telling her to beg. In his ever loving dreams.

"Then you'll just have to remain as you are." He gave her clit a hard swipe with his tongue, just for kicks. She cursed and seized at the feeling. Damn him and his cunning ways!

"And I wouldn't try anything either. I'm not above restraining you on the bed Bulma." Her eyes widened and she bit her lip as the image of him tying her wrists to the bedpost passed through her mind.

Vegeta noted the interest in her gaze and how the scent of her arousal elevated when he mentioned restraint. So his little mate was keen on the idea of being tied up? Interesting. He stored that away for later. "Are we clear, woman?"

She shakily nodded her head.

"Good." He blew hot air on her exposed skin. She shuddered lightly and closed her eyes again._ 'Perfect'._ He heated two of his fingers with his ki and plunged them into her pussy just as he lowered his mouth to suck on her clit.

"Oh my Kami!" Bulma screamed into the silent night. She bucked her hips, almost trying to get away from touch. Vegeta held her down with one hand before fucking her hard with his fingers and his mouth.

Oh fuck this.

"Please! Please let me touch you Vegeta!" She didn't wait for him to answer as she grabbed onto his hair in a death grip. He didn't stop her so she guessed he allowed it, thank Kami. He curled his fingers in a come hither motion, hitting her in just the right spot.

The combined sensations proved to be too much for the young heiress as she quickly fell over the edge, her orgasm hitting her harder than she's ever felt in her life.

The Prince moved his mouth to her entrance just as she came, catching every single drop. He purred at the taste of her. _'So sweet.'_ He gently licked her down from her release until she stopped shaking.

He moved back up and kissed her, his tongue dancing with hers as he let her taste her own essence. Bulma moaned into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck as he ran his hands along the sides of her body. Vegeta caught her bottom lip with his sharp teeth and pulled, slightly splitting the skin and letting her bleed a little. He sucked her lip to soothe the wound and taste her blood. He groaned heavily at the taste, causing her to whimper at the sound.

He whipped the towel off of himself and laid down on her, the full skin to skin contact making both of them sound out their pleasure at the feeling. They kissed again while Vegeta slowly rubbed himself against her wet folds, letting her feel his _gifted_ cock, enjoying the feel of her moist skin against his.

He lined himself up to her entrance and kissed his way to the crook of her neck once more. He sucked the spot on her neck above her shoulder and he roughly plunged into her hot depths.

The heiress screamed her pleasure out loud for the whole compound to hear before wrapping her legs around his hips. Vegeta took that as his cue to ravish her. He pulled out almost all the way before slamming his hips against hers hard at a gruelling pace and she did her best to keep up with him.

The room was filled with gasps of the Prince's name along with pleas of "more, harder, faster" fuelling Vegeta to give his mate what she wanted. Bulma dragged her nails down his back hard, leaving scratch marks everywhere they went. He lightly moaned at the feeling, the sound making Bulma feel powerful.

She felt the telltale tightening at the bottom of her abdomen, signaling she was close. Her loud moans turned into consistent gasps, her grip on Vegeta's hair tightening even more, making him shudder.

"Vegeta!" Bulma cried out at the top of her lungs as she came again, this one dwarfing the last one entirely as her body clenched over and over again.

Vegeta rammed into her a few more times before stilling completely, growling deeply as his fangs bit into her neck, relishing the taste of her blood when he found his release. The feeling of him coating her and his bite along with the guttural sound he made had Bulma tightening her hold on him when another wave hit her, moaning her release one last time.

She fell back onto the bed, panting for breath when it was over. Vegeta fell on top of her but quickly rolled her onto him to avoid crushing her. He held her head in place and they softly kissed a few times before he broke and turned her head to show her wound. He licked off the excess blood and caressed the wound as his eyes returned to their normal obsidian hue.

It was official. Bulma Briefs was his mate and the proof was there for all to see.

The Prince pulled a thin sheet up to cover both of them. He turned his head and chuckled wickedly.

The woman was out like a light.

_'I'm willing to bet this never happened when she was with the weakling.'_

Vegeta wrapped his arms around her and turned them so they were both lying on their sides.

_'Mine.' _That was the last thought that passed through his mind before he fell asleep. His smug smile never left his face all night.

* * *

**_Author's Note: _**Annnnd there you go ladies and gentlemen! Oh I apologise, was I supposed to warn you beforehand about what was about to happen? No way! That would've spoiled the surprise lol!

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I had fun writing it. My first lemon! I hope it turned out okay. It was a bit of a challenge trying to keep it sexy yet tasteful. Some fics just be straight up porn-esque so I really tried to avoid that hot mess lmao. If this scene made you uncomfortable then I do apologise but I did warn you in the beginning of this story that this would happen. You're free to stop reading if this isn't your thing because fair warning, this isn't the last time this happens. Otherwise, you'll be fine *wink*.

Just a quick reminder that this story is on AO3 under the same pen name. Just in case anything happens and I'm forced to remove the good stuff.

As always, a big thank you to RoyalBlueRoses, Becky L. Sly and frankilc.93 for your reviews. You guys are the best! Stay safe everyone! Until next time my dudes! RR18


	10. The Prince's Aid

**_Chapter 10_**

The early morning sun rose in the soft pink and blue sky, its rays shining through one of the many bedroom windows in the Capsule Corp building where a certain heiress was resting peacefully in the warm covers of the Saiyan Prince's bed.

Bulma sighed softly and her eyelids fluttered like the wings of a butterfly before she opened them completely. Her arms rose above her head as she stretched languidly like a cat before she relaxed. She turned her head to the left and found that side of the bed empty. She felt the sheets and found that they were barely lukewarm, an indication that Vegeta had been gone for a little while.

The hum of the gravity chamber caught her attention and she wrapped the covers around her chest and sat up to look out the window. "I shouldn't be surprised at how his Highness got out of bed this early to train and yet here I am." She just shook her head in amusement at Vegeta's work ethic.

"I don't know how he has the energy to do anything right now, especially with how we went at it like rabbits last night." She remarked with a slight blush on her cheeks.

Bulma knew that their eventual coming together was going to be mind blowing but she hadn't expected to be as amazing as it was. It put all of her dreams and fantasies to shame. She'd been worn out when it was over and fell asleep immediately.

She remembered the way he held her, his grip so possessive and confident. The way he moved his body and how he touched her. His kisses and how he always smirked or laughed in a devilish manner when he found one of her erogenous zones. His words and actions when he held her down proved how, like in all areas of his life, he prefers to take control in the bedroom as well. Not that she was complaining, it was hot as all get out.

Her mind went back to something he said to her that caught her attention.

_'I'm not above restraining you to the bed, Bulma.' _

Back when she was still with Yamcha, she never once entertained the idea of being tied up or anything along those lines. In their relationship, she was the one who mainly led the way when they were intimate and it was fine for both of them.

Now though, she was with Vegeta, who was the polar opposite of her former beau. He was bold, assertive, had a wicked mouth and clearly was going to be the one calling the shots and to be honest, she didn't mind. Actually, the idea was very appealing. Of course she wouldn't lie back and take it all the time but she was perfectly happy letting him have his way.

She snickered at that train of thought. Bulma could only imagine how surprised some people would be hearing her say she's fine with taking the back seat in terms of their bedroom antics.

But there was something she could not, and would not ever forget. The way his eyes and teeth had changed. To say she had been stunned would've been an understatement. She really wasn't expecting his eyes to change colour and for his canines to elongate like that.

_'He reminded me of the vampires from cheesy supernatural romance movies. The only difference was that he wasn't faking it and he was a lot more feral than those dudes could ever wish to be.' _

She shivered lightly when she thought of his words after she asked about his change.

_Vegeta gave her a devilish smile before laying on top of her and whispered to her in a dark, captivating voice. "In simple terms, my Oozaru demands that I fuck you until you don't remember any other name besides my own."_

Oh and how he managed to back up his words with his actions. Though she wouldn't tell him that.

_'Kami knows I won't tell him how good he was. His already disgustingly huge ego doesn't need the extra boost.'_ Vegeta must've been so damn proud when he found her dead to the world so fast.

Bulma attempted to stretch her neck, trying to work out the kinks, when she winced at a sharp pain on the right side of her neck. She gently brushed her fingers over the spot between her shoulder and neck. Her eyes widened when she felt teeth marks on the skin. Then she remembered.

"He bit me. Really damn hard by the feel of things. But why?" She made a mental note to ask him later.

Bulma gasped when she felt a small tremor in the earth. Living in Japan all her life, she was used to the occasional earthquake so she knew how one felt. That little shake in the earth was something else. She looked out the window right at the GR. The hum had stopped for a moment before coming back on again.

Of course.

She laid her palm on her forehead and sighed in annoyance.

"Kami, one of these days that idiot is gonna blow the ship up again. He really needs to slow down." Although she knew damn well he wasn't going to slow down until he reached Super Saiyan. As much as she didn't like it, she understood why.

For almost six months now, Vegeta has been training like an absolute madman. He's hurt himself more times than she could count. Fractured ribs, cuts, burns and bruises had littered his body and yet he kept on going. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't break past that barrier that was holding him back. It was beginning to frustrate him and a frustrated Vegeta always equals a reckless Vegeta.

It was confusing the hell out of her as well. Bulma built him the most challenging battle bots that she could manage, increased the level of gravity he could use and even had guns that would shoot synthetic ki laser beams at him at dazzling speeds so he could improve and reach his goal and still he remains the same.

Sure, physically, he's changed. His body is much more defined than it was a few months ago. Her monthly reports indicate that his strength has also taken a huge leap. By all accounts he should have transformed by now. So what was missing? What was or wasn't he doing in order to reach his goal? She wasn't sure but she was determined to help him in any way she could.

Bulma looked at the sky and found that the sun had risen quite a bit. She'd been lost in her thoughts for a while. She got out of bed and took the towel Vegeta left on the floor and wrapped it around her body, gathered her ruined nightgown and walked to the door. She opened the door and, as soon as she confirmed the coast was clear, dashed to her room. Bulma took a quick shower, careful to avoid her wound, got dressed in a polo neck shirt and jeans and went to join her family for breakfast.

When she arrived at the kitchen, she greeted everyone present, the Prince included.

"What a surprise. Our guest of honour has finally decided to grace us with his presence this morning."

Said guest looked at her with a bemused expression on his handsome face. She couldn't help but laugh at that look. It was just too good!

Mrs Briefs put everybody's plates in front of them before seating herself at the table. Bulma noticed that her portion was much larger than she was used to. Strange.

"Um, mom." Mrs Briefs turned her head to acknowledge her daughter, her ever present smile stuck on her beautiful face. Vegeta just couldn't understand why she was smiling all the time. It was actually very odd.

"Yes, darling?" She cooed at Bulma.

"Why did you give me more food than I usually eat?" She took a sip of her orange juice.

"I thought that you could use some more food so you could get your energy back after last night, sweety."

Unlike last time, she had something in her mouth but luckily she didn't spit it out. She choked on it. She coughed a few times while her mother patted her on her back. Once she could breathe properly she attempted to speak again, only for her mother to cut her off.

"Now Bulma, there's no need to be shocked. It's a natural part of life. Besides, you weren't very quiet about it." She groaned in embarrassment and hid her face behind her hands.

_'Kill. Me. Now. Note to self, soundproof both yours and Vegeta's rooms.' _

The colour on Bulma's face could rival a ripe tomato, it was so red. She risked a glance at the whole table through her fingers. Her mother was beaming at her as if she'd said nothing wrong. Her father was looking very intently at his newspaper, but upon close inspection, she saw a faint tint of red on his weathered cheeks. No doubt a little uncomfortable hearing about his daughter's _escapades_ from his wife.

_'Join the club, dad.'_

She then looked at Vegeta and immediately wished she hadn't. He was looking at her with a mischievous glint in his dark eyes, his face the epitome of smug male satisfaction. He was enjoying watching her squirm in her seat.

Cocky bastard.

Bulma dropped her hands and picked up her fork to eat as fast she could so she could get the hell out of dodge.

"Thank you very much for the enlightenment mother. You really didn't have to do that."

"You're welcome Bulma. To be honest, I'm just glad that you're with Vegeta now and not Yamcha." Bulma's eyes widened at that. "Not to say I had anything against him, I just think that you and Vegeta are better suited for each other."

_'For Kami's sake, make it stop!'_

At this point the Prince was full on smirking with wicked glee. Sometimes the woman's hare brained mother really knew how to silence her daughter with facts.

Somehow Bulma managed to finish her meal in record time without choking to death.

"Would you look at the time! I just remembered I have to….fix the dragon ball radar. Kami knows we'll need that little gizmo soon. Thanks for breakfast Mama." She stood up quickly, took her dish to the sink and left the kitchen in a hurry.

Mrs Briefs giggled lightly before speaking to no one in particular. "Just think, in no time at all, there'll be cute grandbabies for me to spoil rotten!"

Vegeta just rolled his eyes and left the kitchen without a word. Really, for her moments of actually making sense, she always manages to find some way to ruin it with nonsensical ideas.

* * *

"Why couldn't I have been born to a normal mother? She just says the most embarrassing things sometimes." She groaned out loud.

Bulma was lounging with her eyes closed on a chair by the pool in the backyard, soaking up the warm rays of the sun. Autumn was slowly giving way to colder weather so she was going to get as much warmth as possible.

A shadow passed over her face, taking away the warmth and replacing it with the cooler atmosphere. She frowned in irritation at the sudden change.

"Stupid clouds, hiding the sun from me." She muttered under her breath.

"Just what have you done that's so exhausting it warrants you sitting out here doing nothing, woman?" A familiar voice spoke up.

Bulma pursed her lips at Vegeta's comment. "Vegeta, do you mind? You're in the way of my unofficial tanning session." She said with her eyes still closed, completely ignoring his statement.

"As a matter of fact, I do mind. Why don't you get off your lazy ass and actually do something useful, like fixing the bots I destroyed yesterday?"

That got her attention.

Her eyes snapped open and she stood up from her comfortable perch.

"What the hell do you mean destroyed?! Dammit Vegeta, I built those bots three days ago with materials that aren't easy to come by. How have you already trashed them?!"

He merely crossed his arms and looked down at her, looking like the poster boy for aristocratic arrogance.

"Obviously the technology on your backwater planet isn't enough to handle the might of the Prince of all Saiyans. Really, woman. I thought that by now you would know not to provide me with inferior machines such as those."

If looks could kill, Vegeta would've died a hundred times over right on the spot. The infuriated gaze she sent him could've sent lesser males running for the hills.

"Excuse me?! Inferior technology?! I'll have you know that we don't use anything but the best the earth has to offer! Our tech is so advanced that some of the projects I've built have been classified as top secret because they're too ahead of our time! And for you to stand there in all your assumed glory insulting my intelligence is-"

She would've gone on with her rant….if the Prince didn't take that opportunity to shove his tongue down her throat. He broke his kiss as suddenly as he started, silencing her right there. He chuckled at the dazed expression on her face.

"Now that's much better. Silence becomes you, woman."

Bulma narrowed her eyes at him after hearing those words. "While I should bite your head off for saying that, you actually reminded me of something I wanted to ask you."

Vegeta raised his eyebrow, a silent way of telling her to continue.

"Right. So, what's this about?" She pulled down the neck of her polo and showed him the bite on her neck.

He shrugged dismissively at her inquiry. "Long story short, it's a mating mark. If I'm not mistaken, the Earthling equivalent would be the ring symbolising marriage that I've seen on your mother's finger."

Bulma looked at him with a blank expression on her face. "So, what you're saying is we're basically married."

"Call it what you want, it makes no difference to me. We're mated and that's all there is to it."

The heiress was sure that she and Vegeta were having the most nonchalant conversation ever about being 'newlyweds'. It was actually kind of funny.

"Wait, then that means I have to give you one as well right?"

The Prince gave her a lustful grin before swiftly wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her up to his chest, his face less than a centimetre from hers.

"If that's what you want to do then who am I to deny you your request? We can do so at a time of your choosing. For now…" He brushed his lips against hers before letting her go. "I have training to do. Hurry up with those bots, woman."

Vegeta snickered at her bewildered expression before heading for the GR.

"Freakin smartass." Bulma grumbled under her breath. Well at least that answered her question about that soon-to-be scar on her neck.

"Now he expects me to just build him new bots like I'm his damn servant. The nerve of that man!" She released a sharp breath before taking on a thoughtful stance.

"Even if I wanted to construct new bots for him, the materials I'd need won't be here for a few days. So what in the world can I do while I wait for the parts to arrive?" She tapped her finger on her chin, ideas buzzing through her head.

"Of course!" Her azure eyes sparkled with delight. Why hadn't she realised it earlier?

"I could build him a new set of armour! Kami knows he can't use the old one. Perfect!"

Bulma turned and dashed for the compound. She had a new personal mission to accomplish.

* * *

**_Author's Note: _**Damn but writer's block is a real bitch sometimes. This chapter just refused to come together. I don't know, it just didn't flow the way I wanted no matter how many times I rewrote it. In the end, I eventually got it but it still feels weird.

The end is nigh ladies and gentlemen! I hope you've all enjoyed the story so far. There's still a few more chapters to go! Let's get it!

Once again, thank you to RoyalBlueRoses, frankilc.93 and silhouetteofme for your reviews on the last chapter. You guys stay slayin' *wink*. Please R and R. As always, stay safe and healthy everyone. Until next time my dudes! RR18 .


	11. Subtle Recognition

**_Chapter 11_**

Bulma looked intently at her computer screen, reading over the results of various tests and scans done on a sample of Vegeta's old armour.

She'd been in the lab for hours doing extensive research and running test after test on the composition of the damaged armour and torn black lycra bodysuit ever since she snagged them from the closet of Vegeta's room in the early afternoon.

The heiress had already concluded that the bodysuit would be easier to recreate since the materials needed to make it could already be found almost anywhere. The only challenge would be to try and strengthen the material so it could take extensive damage from strong attacks before finally giving way.

On the other hand….

"Dammit. I had a feeling this would be the result but I was kinda hoping for the opposite. The components that make up the armour don't exist on this planet." She released an annoyed sigh before crossing her arms and sitting back on her chair.

"Obviously the next step is to find similar materials that are close in composition to the originals so that I can combine them to make something that can be just as strong as this hunk of junk." She mused while poking the armour sitting on her desk.

Bulma looked at the clock mounted on the wall and her eyes bulged when she realised it was almost midnight.

"I've been here for almost twelve hours. Well, that's what happens when I lose myself in my work. Everything just fades into the background."

Her stomach chose that moment to remind her that she had skipped lunch and dinner. She looked down and placed a hand on her abdomen.

"Okay calm down. Let me just conduct a mass search for materials I can use as replacements then I'll feed you okay?"

She cracked her fingers and worked her magic on the keyboard. After setting the search up she stood up and stretched out her tired muscles, releasing a big yawn in the process.

"Food and then sleep. Sounds like a fantastic idea to me."

She turned off the lights and left her lab. Hopefully, the results would give her some good news in the morning when she came back. Once Bulma got to the kitchen, she quickly warmed up and ate the dinner her mother had left for her in the oven, washed it down with a glass of water and began the long trek to her room.

At this point, Bulma's level of awareness was practically non-existent. Which is why, on her way to her room in the dark hallway, she failed to notice a door being opened slowly before a hand shot out and grabbed her arm to drag her into the room.

She yelped at the move when she felt herself get pushed up against the now closed door. Before she could do anything else, a pair of lips crushed themselves on hers, kissing her breathless before pulling back a moment later. She heard a familiar chuckle, which quickly got her out of her semi-shocked state, and she spoke up to her would-be 'assailant'.

"Vegeta! Don't scare me like that! I almost had a heart attack, thinking some weirdo managed to sneak into the compound or something." She exclaimed with a frown on her face. Any more antics like that and she'd die before the androids showed up.

The Prince rolled his eyes at that statement. "Woman, last time I checked, your dwelling is equipped with some of the most efficient security systems around. Well, efficient by this planet's laughable standards anyway. It would take more than a random 'weirdo' to break into this place on his own."

Bulma gasped lightly when he suddenly pressed his body into hers, his face in the crook of her neck.

"In any case, that's not important right now. What I want to know is what were you doing in that lab of yours that had you locked away for hours on end."

She opened her mouth to tell him when she quickly decided against it. The armour would be a surprise.

_'Yeah, it'll be like a wedding gift of sorts. Usually people give their husbands watches or dress up in sexy lingerie as a present. Not me, I take it further by making him rip-off alien space clothing.' _

She bit her lip to keep from laughing that ridiculous train of thought. She quickly answered Vegeta's question before he got suspicious at her silence.

"If you must know, I was ordering the parts for your precious battle bots and working on my numerous other projects that needed my immediate attention. I think it's safe to say that I had a long day."

It wasn't entirely untrue but he didn't need to know that.

Vegeta breathed in her scent and slowly circled his hips on hers, making her breath hitch when she felt his arousal on her stomach.

"It sounds like you had a bit of a rough day woman. I think I have the perfect way to help you relax." He said in his husky baritone voice that never failed to make her shiver in delight.

He kissed her deeply while he gripped on the bottom of her thighs and lifted her up from the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held onto him as he led them to the bed.

She was planning to sleep but that idea had been tossed promptly out the window. She didn't mind though cause the next few hours proved to be well worth it.

* * *

_A few weeks later…_

"Bulma Briefs, you truly are one of a kind!" She beamed with excitement shining through her bright smile.

The mass search she'd conducted a while back had luckily bared some fruit. It had revealed that there were indeed a few materials on the planet that she could possibly use for her task. She had quickly procured all of the components and had begun testing for the combinations that gave the best results.

After countless trials and tribulations in her endeavours, keeping up with demands for the company, constantly upgrading the GR and its extras and many sleepless nights (no thanks to her insatiable mate and his ludicrous stamina), she'd finally managed to complete the first set of armour.

She stood back with her hands on her hips and admired her work. Her stance radiated with pride at the results of her labour.

"All that's left now is to have his highness test it out." She said to herself, her smile never leaving her face.

She walked to the monitor and typed in the code for the communicator in the GR. The screen flashed for a moment before a picture came up.

There, in all his glory was the Saiyan Prince, phasing in and out of view as he dodged attacks from the bots and the ki beams from the guns that lined the top of the room. She watched in awe as he moved almost effortlessly, his graceful, agile movements and remarkable speed captured her attention, almost making her forget what she wanted to say.

The bots came to a halt and the guns seized their fire. An indication that the monitor had come on. Bulma had installed that feature a couple of months ago when Vegeta had been unceremoniously attacked by one of the bots when he addressed her. That was one of the rare times she'd blushed in embarrassment from hearing him throw _colourful_ words left, right and centre.

Vegeta turned to the screen to acknowledge whoever dared to interrupt him. When he saw the woman's face, he opened his mouth to tell her to get lost but she beat him to the punch.

"Hey Vegeta. I need you to come to the lab real quick. It's really important." He raised his eyebrow at her enlarged face. Normally he would scoff and ignore her but this time, he noticed a glint in her expressive eyes. What could possibly be so important that it couldn't wait for later.

Looks like he's about to find out.

"This better be worth it, woman." He grumbled at her, his scowl never leaving his face.

"Oh trust me, it is. Don't you worry." She winked at him before cutting transmission. Now the wait begins.

Bulma didn't wait too long though cause a few minutes later Vegeta came strolling into the lab, his posture screaming arrogance with his arms crossed and his head held high.

"Well? What is it that's so urgent that it couldn't wait until later?" He asked gruffly.

The heiress raised an eyebrow at that tone of voice and mirrored his stance.

"Why don't you lose the attitude and just be patient Vegeta?"

She rolled her eyes and dropped her arms to her sides.

"Honestly, you're just lucky I'm in a good mood so I'll let that slide. I called you here because I have a surprise for you."

She turned and lifted a large box from her desk. She faced him with a giddy smile on her face and handed him the parcel.

The Prince took the box from her with a frown on his face, hiding his amazement at the gesture. He shook it lightly and heard something bouncing around and narrowed his eyes in slight suspicion.

Bulma sighed silently and shook her head at him. Honestly, the man was too paranoid for his own good.

"Vegeta it's not going to bite you on your ass. Just open it."

He gave her a sharp glare before pulling off the lid. This time he wasn't so successful in hiding his shock. His eyes widened and his lips parted slightly after taking in the contents. He took them out of the box so he could inspect them properly.

It was a blue full bodysuit, white gloves and boots and armour. The design was slightly different to the standard design with gold ribbed straps instead of shoulder pads but otherwise, it was almost spot on.

"As I'm sure you've noticed, these designs stem from the old, damaged armour you wore when you came back from outer space." He nodded at her to continue.

"The bodysuit had been the first one I'd completed. It was relatively easy, using the same combination of materials that made up a lycra bodysuit, the only difference being that I'd added a very soft and flexible yet strong metal component to it that could absorb extreme heat and bounce back from excessive force before it would start taking serious damage. The gloves and boots are the same. Even with all that, the suit is as soft as a baby blanket." She spoke animatedly, her eyes alight with joy.

"The armour had proven to be a more complicated matter. The original components that made it up don't exist on this planet so I conducted a mass search to find suitable replacements and luckily a few came up. As soon as I got what I needed, I played around and came up with different results. Not all of them worked out so well."

She chuckled at a sudden memory of one such instance. "You should have seen my second attempt. It came out looking okay until I tried to pick it up. It felt like it weighed a thousand tons! I tried again but it just fell on the floor and _that_ was the result."

She pointed to the formerly large crack on the floor on the far side of the lab. Vegeta couldn't help but release a snicker of his own, imagining the woman struggling with the faulty piece.

"In the end, my genius prevailed and here we are! This final product is just as pliable as the old one but the main and most important difference is that it's ten times more durable and can take a lot more damage than before. So what do you think?" Bulma felt like her cheeks were going to fall off with the way she was smiling so hard. But she couldn't help it, she was just so darn chuffed!

The Prince took in her jovial appearance. She seemed immensely pleased with herself and the fruits of her labour. To be honest he was quite impressed with her and her work ethic. For all her moments of laziness, she really committed to a task once she set it and didn't stop until she was fully confident that she had completed it to the best of her abilities.

"You look satisfied with the outcome, woman. Although I do commend you on successfully replicating the armour, I'd have to test it before I can give you a proper assessment."

She hummed in assent. That's why she called him here in the first place. "You're welcome to try it out. I wanted to know how it would withstand actual force in battle situations."

He nodded sharply at those words. "I'll let you know how well it does….or doesn't work." He smirked at the glare she sent him before leaving the lab to test his armour out.

"Sometimes I really wonder why I even bother with him." She muttered under her breath.

She looked around at her lab and took in the mess.

_'It looks like a bomb went off in here.'_

Bulma cleaned everything up before heading for the residential area of the compound. It was still afternoon so she decided to give herself a break. She definitely deserved it.

* * *

Vegeta was walking down the hallway on the way to his room to clean up after finishing his evening meal.

He had spent the rest of his time in the chamber after his surprising encounter with the woman. Of all the things she could've said or done, that certainly wasn't what he had in mind.

After he had donned his new attire, he trained much harder than he usually did. His moves and attacks, no matter how hard he tried, could not do any significant damage. It seemed the only thing that would do the trick would be lethal blows. Truly, the woman had outdone herself this time.

He entered his room, placed everything in his closet neatly and was about to enter the bathroom when his sensitive hearing picked up the sound of the woman's shower running.

A smirk slowly graced his face as an idea suddenly crossed his mind.

_'Why not join her?'_

The Prince made his way to her room and silently entered the bathroom. He felt his temperature rise when he spotted her sleek silhouette through the curtain. He quickly stripped and made his way into the shower.

Bulma was rinsing the conditioner from her hair when she felt her hackles rise on the back of her neck. Before she could react, she found herself pressed against the wall, her back to the perpetrator's front. There could only be one person who would do this.

"Vegeta! Would it kill you to knock or something before you just barge in unannounced?!"

He merely laughed in response and kissed a trail up her neck to her ear.

"Now where would the fun in that be, hm?" He whispered before catching her lobe with his teeth and pulling slightly.

She shook her head at his teasing, trying to clear her head of the fog that was building up.

"You and I clearly have different understandings on the concept of fun."

"That may be true. But..." Bulma gasped when he abruptly turned her around and swallowed a whimper when she saw the predatory look in his eyes.

"I'm sure that _this_ is something we can both agree on as being fun, don't you think?" He maintained eye contact as he ground his hips against hers, smirking deviously at the hitch in her breath.

"Either way, that's not the only reason why I'm here. I actually came here to tell you about the armour you made." Her eyes flashed with interest and anticipation.

He slowly ran the tips of his fingers up and down her thighs, relishing the shiver she gave at the feeling.

"I must say that it worked quite well. It seemed that your efforts weren't for nothing after all. I commend you, woman."

The Prince then ran one of his hands up the inside of her thigh, watching her face the entire time.

"So I thought it best that I come and reward you for your efforts. And what better way than to…"

He trailed off just as he reached the source of her mouth-watering scent that's permeating the air and slowly dragged his index finger up her slit.

Bulma closed her eyes and sighed softly when she felt Vegeta's finger slide up her lips. He lightly pinched her clit which made her jump slightly and snap her eyes open to look at him. That was what he was looking for as he brought his coated finger to his sinfully full lips and sucked the wetness from it, causing her to whimper at the sight.

Vegeta grinned seductively at her before leaning his head down and kissing her softly at first, then with more urgency as the passion grew between them. He broke the kiss to lick and suck a trail down her neck. He looked at her mark and felt his blood boil at the sight.

_'Mine.'_ He growled in his mind as he bit her again, just enough to not break the skin but rather to reiterate what she was to him, and suck on the scarred flesh.

The blue haired beauty moaned lightly when she felt him caress his mark with his tongue.

_'Who knew that mark would end up being so sensitive?'_

She felt him move down her body when her back arched off of the wall and she panted heavily as he alternated between pinching her oversensitive nipples and lavishing them with his hot mouth. The Prince stood to his full height, grabbed a handful of her and pulled her head back so he could kiss her again, his tongue swirling with hers in a dance as old as time.

Bulma moaned into the kiss as Vegeta wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her closer, their wet skin helping her slide her body on his. Not one for being idle, she put a hand on his chest and slowly ran it down, intending to give him the same pleasure he gave her when he grabbed both her hands and placed them behind her back. He pressed his body onto hers, effectively trapping her hands against the wall behind her.

She looked up at him in surprise at the sudden move. He snickered at her expression.

"Usually I don't mind you making such bold moves, but for now you're just going to have to relax and keep still. Understand?"

Well damn if that didn't just kick her libido up a notch.

She nodded her agreement, partially wanting to wipe the smug look off his face. "Perfect." He whispered before plunging two fingers up her tight pussy and burying his face in the crook of her neck to suck on her mark.

Bulma threw her head back and moaned wantonly as Vegeta fucked her with his fingers. He curled them in a come-hither motion and pushed his palm directly onto her clit, hitting both of her spots at the same time, sending her into overdrive. She swiveled her hips in time with his thrusts and felt the familiar tightening at the bottom of her abdomen. She started gasping consistently, standing just over the edge. Just a bit more….

The bastard stopped and pulled his fingers out just before she fell over the edge.

The heiress cursed in frustration before the sound was swallowed by the kiss of a very amused Saiyan Prince. He sucked her tongue into his mouth and swirled his tongue around it before releasing and biting her top lip.

"Tch. Such a dirty mouth Bulma. Where are your manners?"

"Fuck you!" She growled at him.

"Oh you will soon enough." He replied with a wicked laugh. Honestly, angering the woman never failed to entertain him.

She was about to snap back at him when he thrust his fingers back into her hot depths and picked up at the exact same pace as before. Bulma loudly moaned her pleasure, her head leaned back against the wall. Vegeta placed open mouthed kisses on her exposed throat and increased his speed. She gasped for air a few times before falling over the edge.

"Vegeta!" She screamed as her orgasm washed over her.

The Prince wasted no time, quickly gripping the back of her thighs, lifting her off the ground and pushed her back against the wall as he roughly thrust into her. Bulma moaned and wrapped her legs around his hips as he fucked her. She raked her nails down his back and buried her face in his neck to hide her smile at his responding groan.

She vaguely remembered something important…

"V-Vegeta, how do I mark you? What do I have to do?" She whispered in his ear.

She felt him place one of his hands on the back of her head and push it to the area between his neck and shoulder.

"Bite down on the spot I directed you to. Do it as hard as you can manage." He groaned out.

Bulma licked on the spot before biting down hard and breaking the skin, surprised at the faintly sweet taste of his blood. She felt him still for a moment before he released a deep growl and fucked her harder than before.

The Prince put a hand between their bodies and quickly rubbed on her clit, trying to get her to fall again. Kami knew he couldn't back much longer. The blue haired siren moaned softly and wrapped her arms around his neck. She clenched her inner muscles around him and whispered his name as she fell over the edge once more.

At the soft sound of his name on her lips, Vegeta thrust into her a few more times before stilling completely, growling his release into her neck.

They both panted heavily, just content to stand and let the lingering pleasure flow away slowly and peacefully. A moment later, Bulma leaned back and looked at her handiwork.

"Oh yeah, anyone can definitely tell you've been bitten alright. It doesn't look as clean as mine though, more like a teething puppy just gnawed on your skin." She said to him.

She held her hand out and gathered some lukewarm water in her hand and rinsed off the excess blood.

Vegeta chuckled at her silly comparison.

"It doesn't matter. With your blunt teeth it was to be expected. You may have to do it one or two more times to ensure it scars properly."

They basked in the comfortable silence before it was broken by Bulma's giggles.

"If I had known that would've been my reward for making you new armour then I should've made it a lot sooner."

Vegeta placed her back on her feet and looked at her with an amused smirk. "Shut up woman." He said before kissing her softly.

If she'd blinked, she would've missed an unknown emotion flashing in his eyes before he hid it again when he kissed her.

_'I love you Vegeta.'_ The heiress placed her hand over his heart and smiled against his lips.

* * *

**_Author's Note:_** Did anyone order a glass of lemonade? No? Okay that was lame, I'm sorry lol.

Well I thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter. The ideas were just pouring out of my ears for this one. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I hope you guys like it.

As always, thank you to RoyalBlueRoses and Becky L. Sly for your reviews. Virtual hugs to both of you . Please R and R. Until next time my dudes! RR18


	12. Unexpected

**_Chapter 12_**

_A month later… _

Bulma knelt with her head partially in the bowl of the toilet as she emptied the contents of her stomach. She stood up and pressed the flush button before heading to the sink to brush her teeth.

She's been throwing up for almost three days and she was really starting to get worried. Initially she wrote it off as a bad reaction to the take out she had not so long ago. But then, as time passed, her condition didn't get any better. Deep down, Bulma had a sneaking suspicion what the cause of her illness was, but she had to get tested in order to be sure.

"It's best if I go now. The sooner I get it done, the sooner I can get answers. Oh Kami, why me?" Bulma straightened up her appearance and headed to the private hospital in the city. She arrived and after stating that she wanted to get a pregnancy test, filled in a form that a nurse with a kind face handed to her. Thanks to the contributions Capsule Corp made to the hospital, she didn't have to wait too long before being called in to see the doctor. The heiress was directed to a private room and told to wait for the doctor.

She didn't have to wait too long because about five minutes later, a female doctor with short black hair walked in and greeted her with a warm smile that immediately put her fraying nerves at ease.

"Good afternoon Ms Briefs. I'm Dr. Himiko and I'll be looking after you today. Before we get started, can I just confirm that you are indeed here for a pregnancy test?"

"Yes, that's correct." Bulma nodded her assent with a small smile of her own. There was something about this woman, she had an energy about her that was just tranquil and calming.

"Okay, wonderful. While we wait for the nurse to come back with what I need, I'll just ask you a couple of questions. They're just the general basic health questions, nothing special."

As she was answering the doctors questions, the nurse walked in with the apparatus placed neatly on a tray.

"Alright. I'm just going to draw a small amount of your blood and we'll send it off to the lab for testing."

Dr. Himiko cleaned the area inside Bulma's elbow with an alcohol swab and retrieved the blood she needed.

"Great. I'll be back with your results soon. My assistant will keep you company in the meantime. Just sit back and relax, okay?" She said with a wink.

"Okay." The heiress answered with a soft smile.

After making small talk with the nurse about nothing in particular, the doctor walked back into the room a while later with a bright smile on her face that immediately confirmed what Bulma knew to be true.

"Congratulations Ms Briefs. You're five weeks pregnant!" It felt as though time had come to a complete standstill after those words were uttered from the doctors mouth.

_Pregnant. _

_She was pregnant._

"How is that possible? I'd been on the pill for months without fail." Bulma asked her, just needing some type of clarification.

"There are some cases, albeit rare, of women falling pregnant even though they used the most effective contraceptive pill around. It just so happened that you fell into that category."

_'Or maybe, a certain Saiyan's sperm is a little too strong for human based countermeasures.' _She thought to herself wryly, inwardly rolling her eyes at her dry humour.

After exchanging a few more words, with the doctor promising full confidentiality after seeing Bulma's nervous reaction to the news, Bulma thanked her for her help and with a short embrace to the doctor and the nurse, left the hospital. On the drive back home, she had a million questions going through her head.

Was she ready to be a mother? _Yes she was. _

What if she didn't turn out to be a good one? _With her mom's help, her baby would have the best upbringing filled with security, love and warmth. She'd make damn sure of it._

What was Vegeta going to say?

That last one had her groaning out loud with worry. The heiress couldn't even imagine what her volatile Saiyan's reaction was going to be. The very thought of telling him had her feeling sick all over again.

"Oh Kami. Please let it go well when I do tell him." She said to the air around her.

* * *

After training in four hundred and fifty times gravity for a little over six hours, the Prince was sitting on the grass outside the GR, the crisp cold air cooling his overheating skin. He had come to a conclusion regarding his training, one that was looking more and more like the solution to his problems.

Vegeta had come to realise that the reason he was not progressing any further was that there was no challenge for him, nothing to really push him into breaking the barrier that stood between him and his birthright. He needed to leave Earth and find harsher environments to train under. It was the only way.

Though if he was being honest, that wasn't the only reason he wanted to leave the planet, not really. There was something else, something a bit more..._intimate_.

When Vegeta had mated the vivacious woman, he believed that the desire that raged for her would calm slightly. If anything, it's been even worse since then. The more he gorged himself on the sweetness of her body, the more he burned for her. If he wasn't training, he was indulging himself with the intoxicating taste of her creamy skin for hours on end. It was distracting him, making him lose his focus. He had a goal to achieve, and he couldn't do that if his attention was on the woman. No, he had to leave. There was no other way.

The Prince stood up and rolled his head to alleviate the ache in his neck. His head fell back and he looked up into the light blue sky, his gaze severe as he envisioned himself finally realising his destiny in the dark, unforgiving regions of the universe.

_'On my honour as the last royal heir of the mighty Saiyan race, I WILL reach my destiny! Once I have claimed my birthright as the most powerful warrior in the universe, I will crush those tin cans with my bare hands! And when they're gone, you'll be next, Kakarot. Mark my words.'_

With a malevolent smirk on his face, Vegeta made his way to the lab in the compound.

He would become the legendary. Or he would die trying.

* * *

In the evening, Bulma was in Vegeta's room waiting for him to come up. Ever since she came back from the hospital, she'd been avoiding him like the plague. A childish manoeuvre but it was for a good reason. Her nerves had been shot to hell and she knew that if he had found her, he would've smelled a rat immediately. With Vegeta, she could hide nothing. He was just too observant. Her best bet had been to wait until she'd managed to calm down before breaking the news.

Not that it had helped much since she was flitting up and down his room like a hamster on a sugar high.

The faint sound of footsteps reached her ears and she stopped burning a hole into the carpet to turn and face the door. It was time.

_'I wonder if it's too late to jump out the window and make a run for it.'_

Just as she was considering going through with the absurd idea, the door slid open and the Prince walked into the room, not even taking two steps in before looking up and seeing her standing in the centre of the room.

Vegeta raised a questioning eyebrow at her. "Is there any particular reason you're standing in the middle of my room looking like a lost puppy, woman?"

Not that he minded her in his room. He let his eyes roam her nightgown clad body at a leisurely pace from the top of her head to her ample breasts, showing that her nipples had hardened at his scrutiny. He smirked a little at that tidbit of information. He went further down reaching her trim waist and-

What was that?

He frowned in confusion. He definitely felt _something_. But what?

Before he could question it even further, the woman walked towards him, her hips swaying gently as she got closer. By Kami, her porcelain skin was shining in the moonlight, giving her an almost ethereal glow. She came to a stop in front of him and looked into his eyes, her sapphire eyes sparkling in the dim lighting of the room.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about something." She bit her lip, her eyes never leaving his. Vegeta's eyes narrowed at the innocent gesture. He had the sudden urge to close the gap between them and run his tongue along her lip to sooth the tiny pain from her bite. Dammit! This was exactly the type of distraction he'd realised was holding him back from reaching his goal.

Earlier he had started second guessing his idea, thinking about how the woman would react to the news of his upcoming departure. This little moment of theirs had him becoming more and more secure in his decision to leave. But that didn't mean he still couldn't tell her.

At least, not in a conventional manner.

"Funny you should say that, because I have something I wish to say as well." He stated huskily while staring at her lips before looking into her eyes, desire beginning to burn its way through him in waves.

Bulma felt her breath catch in her throat at that all too familiar look. Kami, that look never failed to leave her breathless with its intensity alone. He always reminded her of a panther with the hidden power in his graceful movements and his stare that could burn a hole into her very soul.

Wait, didn't he say he wanted to tell her something just now?

She licked her suddenly dry lips and tried to clear her clouded mind.

"What's on your mind?"

The Prince wrapped his arm around her waist and quickly brought her closer to him, causing her to gasp. He gazed into her eyes for a moment, an unknown emotion burning in his obsidian gaze before closing the tiny gap between and brushing his lips over hers. Her lips parted and he wasted no time in deepening the kiss, his tongue gently swirling against hers in a familiar dance as old as time. Before he could take it any further, Bulma put a hand on his chest and pulled back.

"Hold on, you said you had something you wanted to say." She reminded him before they got too far. She still had her own news she wanted to break but decided to let him go first, thinking whatever he had to say wasn't as shocking as her news.

"I do, and I was before you interrupted me." He smirked minutely at her confused expression before bending down, slowly closing the distance between them. He stopped a hair's width away from her cherry sweet lips. "Don't overthink, Bulma. Just listen." He closed the distance between them and kissed her tenderly.

This time, Bulma wrapped her arms around his neck as she returned his soft kiss. They stood in the same spot for a moment before Vegeta lifted her up and carried her to his bed. He dropped her in the middle and moved to straddle her hips. She watched as his eyes slowly started turning a deep crimson, not as prominent as before but still as intense. The heiress blushed under his heavy gaze, her breathing getting more shallow with every soft touch he left on her body.

Vegeta took a deep breath as the scent of Bulma's arousal permeated the air around them, a growl resonating deep in his chest at the sweet smell. Gods above, this woman's intoxicating scent alone was enough to drive him through the roof. He slowly ran his fingers up her arms, leaving goosebumps along their trail, and bent down to kiss her again as his hands cup either side of her face.

The blue haired beauty wrapped one arm around his neck and the other hand ran through his hair as they exchanged kisses. She moaned lightly when she felt him swivel his hips around hers, his arousal evident through his training pants.

He trailed slow open mouthed kisses down her neck, leisurely licking and sucking until he reached her mark. He bit it lightly, eliciting a small shiver from the woman. He laid his hands on her waist and held on before flipping them over with him underneath her.

Bulma gasped when she felt the sudden shift and raised her head to look at him with surprise. He hardly ever let her be on top, preferring to be the alpha in their bedroom antics.

The Prince gave her a sultry smirk before pulling her head down and kissing her thoroughly. He didn't stop as he released her head and moved his hands up the back of her thighs, taking her gown with them. He bent one of his legs and ground his thigh against her bundle of nerves while he bit her bottom lip, relishing the whimper she let out, and pulled it slightly before releasing it with a pop and slid her dress over her head, not bothering to check where he tossed it.

The young heiress was pleasantly surprised at how her brutish Saiyan was acting tonight. His preferred style was commanding and rough yet passionate when he fucked her. Only this time, with his tender kisses and soft touches it felt like he was, dare she say it, _making love_ to her.

It was in the way he slid her dress off of her instead of ripping it in half as he usually does, the kisses that lingered on parts of her skin that had her shuddering in rapture, the way his blood red eyes burned with passion and that indiscernible emotion when he looked at her and in the way he slowly pleasured her with his fingers and mouth before smoothly sliding up in her hot depths and keeping a gentle yet sensual pace that had her moaning her satisfaction and her heart soared higher and higher. She heard everything he was saying to her with his actions.

For hours, they continued at the same pace until they both fell over on the bed, exhausted yet deeply satisfied. Vegeta gathered her in his arms and brought her close, her face in the crook of his neck.

"Mmm, Vegeta?" She mumbled in question.

"Hm?"

She opened her mouth to say what she originally wanted to but cut herself off quickly, afraid the news would ruin the tranquil moment between them.

"Your words were very sweet, also very unlike you. Did you hit your head before you came to the room?" She asked with a tired giggle.

"Hmph, foolish woman." Vegeta rolled his eyes as he muttered under his breath.

She smiled softly and settled into his hold. She decided to take advantage of this rare moment between them and tell him in the morning when they could duke it out post-orgasmic bliss.

"I love you." Bulma unknowingly whispered before falling asleep, missing the incredulous look the Prince sent her way.

* * *

In the morning Bulma woke up and wondered about the strange dream she had where she'd been jostled about by some unknown force. Her hand reached for Vegeta's side of the bed, unsurprised to find it empty. She looked over at the clock and saw it was ten o'clock.

_'No wonder he isn't here. He's probably been training in the chamber for five hours now.'_

Hold up one second.

She strained her ears and noticed the lack of a hum that's supposed to be coming from said chamber. She turned her head towards the window and her eyes nearly bulged out of her head at what greeted, or rather, what didn't greet her.

What the fuck?

The ship was gone.

_Oh no. _

A feeling of dread started overwhelming her, making her feel like she was going to be sick. That dream she had about being jostled around wasn't a dream at all. It was the ship taking off, the force shaking the ground but she'd been so tired she slept right through it.

"No, no! It can't be! I'm overreacting. Dad probably took it down so he could fix it up properly in the basement. No biggie." She was grasping at straws, she knew but was unwilling to even consider the other possibility.

Just to be sure, she quickly put on her nightgown and went to the closet to retrieve one of her robes she left in there. What she saw when she opened it damn near broke her heart.

All of his armour was gone.

"W-w-where? W-why?" She whispered softly, sadness slowly beginning to make its way through her very being before she snapped into gear and made a mad dash for the kitchen. She found her parents there and approached her father.

"Dad, where's the ship? And Vegeta?" Distress was clearly visible on her face, confusing the good doctor.

"You don't know?"

When she shook her head in the negative, Dr Briefs' eyes widened a bit in shock. "Honey he's gone. He came to me in the early afternoon yesterday and asked me to check if it was worthy to depart as soon as possible."

Early afternoon? She'd been at the hospital at that time. Did he go to her father deliberately, knowing she had left earlier?

"All it needed was some fuel and a small upgrade in the navigational system and it was good to go. He blasted off a few hours ago. I thought he told you."

Oh he told her alright.

_"Don't overthink, Bulma. Just listen." _

Bulma's head was spinning violently, her palms sweaty and her eyes filled with tears at the news. So that's what last night was about. He was saying goodbye. But like the prideful, manipulative bastard he was, he didn't have the balls to tell her in words and exhausted her to the point she wouldn't wake up when he left.

Her mother noticed her distress and sat her down on one of the chairs.

"Bulma darling, it'll be alright! He'll be back before you know it and you two can bless this home with beautiful grandbabies for me and your father." The older woman noted with a warm smile.

Bulma looked at her mother with a blank expression, took her hand and placed it on her abdomen.

"Way ahead of you mom." She stated flatly.

Dr Briefs and his daughter cringed at the loud squeal Bunny released when she figured out what Bulma meant.

"Oh my goodness! I'm going to be a grandma! Oh, this is sooo exciting! We have to start planning the nursery and the baby shower and names! The possibilities are endless!" She preened as she danced around the kitchen like a fairy.

"Congratulations Bulma. I'm truly happy for you both." Dr Briefs told his daughter with a proud smile on his face.

"Thank you Mom, Dad." She responded mechanically. The heiress couldn't even force a smile. Her heart just wasn't in it.

_'__Why Vegeta? Why?'_

* * *

**_Author's Note: _**Wow, what a dick move from our resident Prince. If that ain't the very definition of love em and leave em….

My heart broke a little while writing this. I just felt sorry for Bulma. She wasn't expecting him to just up and leave without a word, especially since she's pregnant now. Worry not, she'll get through this like the champion she is!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter ladies and gentlemen. As always, a huge thanks to RoyalBlueRoses and Becky L. Sly for their reviews. Make sure you check out their own fics, _Gemini Saga_ and _What If: Namek Saga_ respectively. They're totally worth the read, promise!

Don't forget to R and R! Stay safe, healthy and happy during these trying times everyone. Until next time my dudes. Lots of love, RR18


	13. Legendary Sovereign

**_Chapter 13_**

_Six months later…_

Large, angry bolts of lightning flashed across the pitch black sky of a long since dead planet. The Prince stood on the edge of a steep cliff, face contorted in a slightly appreciative grin at the sight before him.

However, the unusual smile on Vegeta's face wasn't to be confused with joy or any remotely positive emotion since internally, he was a boiling pot of rage and he found the foreboding environment to be a very accurate physical manifestation of his emotional turmoil.

Ever since he left Earth that day all those months ago, he had been training non-stop at levels even more gruelling than before, if that were even possible. He would train for days on end with very little rest, to the point where he would end up blacking out where he stood. Only for him to wake up from his involuntary slumber, have a quick meal to fuel his depleted reserves and get right back to it. An endless cycle full of pain, sweat and self-inflicted bloodshed. While it might seem to the average person that Vegeta was doing too much, he thought that it was exactly what he needed.

Thanks to his unforgiving regimen, Vegeta had managed to push all distractions from his mind successfully. From the day he had left the Earth behind and begun his perilous journey into the four corners of the universe on his quest to achieve Super Saiyan, he had barely (if ever) thought about the woman he left behind. The Prince had landed on numerous planets that he knew to be uninhabited or cleared of all life, courtesy of the purging missions he and the other soldiers of the Frieza Force had been assigned on, the days would melt into weeks since he wasn't able to keep track of time. His waking thoughts were on nothing but achieving his goal. And he had almost succeeded. So it was just his luck that it had all changed drastically in the space of ten minutes.

* * *

_Two months into his journey, Vegeta woke up from a small rest he had granted himself and made his way to the upper levels of the ship to begin his daily torture session. As he approached the monitor to turn on the gravity, he caught something in his peripheral vision. He looked over and saw a red light blinking steadily. A sign that there was a message waiting for him. His eyes narrowed as he warred with himself on whether or not he should look at it. Vegeta knew that it could've only come from one person and he wasn't very sure he wanted to hear her bitch at him for leaving without telling her beforehand._

_Vegeta groaned and rolled his eyes at his thoughts. He was acting as if the woman could inflict bodily harm on him from millions of kilometres away. He pushed his ridiculous thoughts to the side and pressed the button to play the message. The large screen above the monitor flashed for a second before a clear picture formed._

"_YOU BASTARD!" Vegeta winced at the shrill voice that echoed through the large speakers at such a high volume, he was surprised the windows of the ship hadn't blown out. Hell, he was even more surprised that his own damn eardrums hadn't blown out. _

"_Damn harpy." He massaged his bruised ears and scowled at the enlarged image of the woman above him._

"_You know, I shouldn't be surprised that you left without telling me what you were planning deliberately but for some stupid reason, I am! For Kami's sake Vegeta, why the hell did you mate with me or whatever if you weren't even willing to involve me in a decision as big as leaving the fucking planet!" The venom in her gaze was so potent, he wondered how he was still alive at that second. Her sapphire eyes burned with indignant flames so hot, they scorched him where he stood and damn if his body didn't respond to that fire in her eyes. _

_Vegeta shook his head at his juvenile line of thought. This is exactly why he left in the first place. He just knew she was going to carry on and on about him leaving, hence his silent departure._

_Bulma raised a clenched fist in her ire, looking ready to punch him through the screen when suddenly her shoulders fell slightly and her eyes took on a suspicious watery look in them. She just looked...tired._

"_I could go on and rip you a new one about how much of an asshole you are and how you're a manipulative and selfish bastard but you know what? I couldn't be bothered. It's probably what you expected me to do anyway, ergo you leaving without so much as a goodbye." She sighed and raised her eyes to meet his gaze directly and he felt an unpleasant sensation in his chest, it almost seemed like she was really standing in front of him instead of sitting in her lab light years away from him. _

"_Honestly, I just wish you had told me you needed to leave so you could focus on yourself completely without any disturbances whatsoever. I'm not an idiot Vegeta. I noticed how you weren't getting to the point you wanted to be at and how much it frustrated you. I would've helped you in any way possible, even if it meant building you a new ship that was stronger, faster and more fuel efficient than the one you're using now. You just had to tell me." She leaned forward in her seat._

"_But of course, you went and assumed I was going to cry and scream about how much I didn't want you to go, how much I would need you and just be a clingy mess out of the blue. Shows how much you really know about me, doesn't it your Highness?" Bulma tucked her hair behind her ear and sat backwards with her arms crossed, a sad little smile on her face._

"_It doesn't matter though. What's done is done. This is the last time you'll hear from me until you come back, I won't interrupt you again. All I ask is one small favour. Send me some sort of sign letting me know you got this. Anything at all, even if it's a written message from you telling me to leave you alone, just to let me know you're still alive and that you haven't killed yourself trying to become a Super Saiyan. Okay, that's all. Take care Vegeta."_

_She was about to end the transmission when she stopped, seeming to remember something else._

"_Oh and one more thing. This is something I wanted to tell you the morning you left." _

_Vegeta narrowed his eyes in suspicion, his fists clenching in anticipation._

'_Kami, it better not be some idiotic declaration of her affection towards me or something equally sentimental.'_

"_I guess it's better that you're in space right now, it makes this easier knowing I won't have to see your reaction. This message would've been delayed in reaching you by about a month, considering how far away you are now." She gave him a small smile, her eyes sparkling for a completely different reason now._

"_You're no longer the last of your bloodline Vegeta. I'm about two months pregnant. We're going to have a baby. Okay, now that's all. I'll see you around Vegeta. Bye." She smiled before signing off, leaving him to stare at the dark screen with a perturbed expression on his face._

_Pregnant...with his offspring._

_Vegeta fell to one knee, his mind racing to catch up with what he just heard._

_Pregnant...with his heir to the throne of a race that now mingles with the debris floating in the cold reaches of the universe. But how-?_

_The Prince's head snapped up as his mind suddenly went back to that last night he spent with the woman. Before he'd been distracted by her lush body, he remembered feeling a small blip of passing ki coming from her general direction. It was so tiny he looked it over, thinking it to be her nervous energy when she tried to tell him something. That tiny upsurge must have been the unborn child's ki he had felt._

_By the gods, he was going to be a father._

_Vegeta's face turned red and he stood to his full height as he growled dangerously into the open space. He felt his power level rise the more he thought about what the woman said. She didn't want him to be disturbed by anything that might throw him off his game? _

"_Well, what the hell do you call this you damned idiot woman?! You've only succeeded in making me lose more of my focus with telling you're expecting a brat! My brat!" He flew up and punched the monitor, sparks flying around his arms. Their slight burn wasn't remotely enough to take his mind off of what he heard._

* * *

From that day on, nothing was enough.

After he had processed what his mate had told him, he'd done everything he could to forget about it and refocus on his original goal. He trained at suicidal levels. He fractured his ribs, he sustained multiple cuts and burns and worked himself to the point of passing out from sheer exhaustion. Yet the results remained the same. No matter how much he pushed himself to near death, he never reached his goal. And it was all thanks to that woman. Even from millions of kilometres away from him, she still managed to infiltrate his thoughts and hinder his training.

"_Send me some sort of sign letting me know you got this. Anything at all, even if it's a written message from you telling me to leave you alone, just to let me know you're still alive and that you haven't killed yourself trying to become a Super Saiyan."_

He never sent her a damn thing.

Eventually he had enough and about two months later, set course for a planet that had long since gone extinct and was known for its near uninhabitable environment and inhospitable lands. It was exactly what he needed.

A huge crack of thunder broke him out of his musings. The ship had warned him of an incoming meteor shower before he had exited the ship. Sure enough, not a minute later, the first of the meteors made their way down towards the planet's surface. The Prince flew up slightly to meet them and started blasting them one by one. They seemed to increase their rate of fire every ten seconds, forcing him to concentrate on destroying all of them, lest they destroy his ship and leave him as good as dead on that Kami-forsaken hellhole.

Normally this kind of activity would have been as simple as brushing dirt under a rug for him but thanks to his intense sessions at four hundred and fifty times earth's gravity, he was struggling to keep the shower at bay. After five minutes that actually felt like five years, Vegeta released a relieved breath as the shower came to an end. His victory, however, was short lived as a meteor the size of the earth's moon made its way towards the surface, ready to claim this desolate planet and everything on it, himself included.

_'No! I refused to be killed by a rock on an unknown planet in some forgotten part of the universe!'_

"HAAAAAAGH!" Vegeta charged up his most powerful ki blast and fired it at the meteor. His eyes widened when he saw the meteor pushing through the blast, mocking him with his inability to destroy it, no matter how hard he tried. Out of nowhere, an image of his rival and the lavender haired boy passed through his mind, their gazes pitying as they saw he was about to die a death unbefitting of a royal Saiyan. He suddenly got his second wind and pushed the last of his energy into the blast. He groaned in exertion and watched as hairline cracks started forming on the rock.

_BOOM!_

The Prince yelled as the force of the explosion flung him into a shallow ravine at full speed. After a moment he pulled himself up from the dirt with humiliating effort. He was injured and utterly fatigued.

"Kakarot." He muttered, venom dripping from each syllable of his most hated adversary's name.

_Kakarot._

_The first to achieve Super Saiyan in over a millennium._

_The one to avenge their fallen race by defeating the tyrant emperor Frieza._

Was this what his life had culminated into?

A Prince of a dead race who was destined to fail at exacting his vengeance on the one being who made twenty odd years of his life a living purgatory?

The Last Son of the Royal Saiyan bloodline forced to watch as his remaining subordinate who knew nothing nor cared for his people's heritage became the Legendary, forever cementing his place as his second?

And it seems that even after all his years of pain, suffering, torture, humiliation and now his failure to reach his destiny, the cruel gods still refuse to grant him a quick death on a dead planet in the forgotten regions of the universe. How the mighty have fallen.

_SNAP!_

"No! That's it! No more! I DON'T CARE!" Vegeta yelled as he slammed his fist into the jagged earth, spilling his blood onto the lifeless terrain.

His rage had finally come full circle. Nothing mattered to him anymore. Not Kakarot, not achieving Super Saiyan, not his mate and unborn child, not even his own life! He grit his teeth with an unforgiving pressure as he felt an unknown entity form in his chest. He felt everything yet at the same time he felt nothing, his tumultuous mind at war with his thundering emotions.

Vegeta rose onto his knees, his body trembling at the sheer magnitude of raw power flowing through his veins, the beast within screaming for an outlet, fighting to be released!

"HAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHHHHHH!" With a mighty roar that could be heard echoing through the neighbouring quadrant of the galaxy, the Prince clenched his fists and threw himself back slightly as he let it all out in a blinding flash of white, his golden aura flaring around him with such brilliant intensity, it seemed as though it shone from the heavens above as the Legendary Super Saiyans of years passed shined their radiant light on their descendant.

A moment later, Vegeta was panting heavily for breath as his senses started returning to him.

"I-impossible. I've finally done it." He marvelled as he gazed at his hands that were shrouded in a golden light. His body jerked as he chuckled silently before he began to laugh maniacally.

'_I have finally reached the Legendary. I am now a Super Saiyan!' _

No longer was he merely the Saiyan Prince. He had finally taken his place as the most powerful being in the entire universe.

Vegeta smirked deviously, his teal eyes filled with malicious pleasure.

_Just as I was meant to._

* * *

**_Author's Note:_** Yaaaay! He's finally done it. Vegeta is finally a Super Saiyan! _*Blasts fireworks*_!

This was a super fun chapter to write. I feel really good about this one. I really hope you guys enjoy it!

As always, thank you so much to RoyalBlueRoses and Becky L. Sly for your reviews on the last chapter. You guys never fail to bring a smile to my face.

I hope everyone is keeping safe and sanitized during these trying times. Peace, love and pixie dust to every last one of you. Until next time my dudes. Much love, RR18


	14. Perfect

**_Chapter 14_**

"Oh Bulma, would you look at these? They are absolutely adorable!" Mrs Briefs said, showing her daughter the sky blue baby booties in her hands. Bulma looked over and smiled brightly at the shoes they'd bought for her unborn son.

At seven months pregnant, Bulma was looking positively radiant. She was enjoying her pregnancy but at the same time was very excited to meet her son. This was evident in the work she and her mother had done in the nursery. It was filled with teddy bears, rattles and other baby toys. They had bought the finest clothes and crib they could find. Granted it was a little extravagant but Bulma wanted nothing but the best for her baby. The best feature, however, had to be how the room was painted. The walls were painted light blue with white accents along the corners and the edge of the ceiling. The roof was the pièce de résistance. It was painted a very dark blue with tiny white stars splashed across it, representing the night sky. In the evening when the lights were off, the stars would literally light up, giving you the impression you were looking at a beautiful starry night. It was magnificent and she couldn't be more happy with it.

Unfortunately, it hadn't always been like this. She hadn't always felt this light and joyous. And it was all thanks to one particular person.

In the beginning, after Bulma had found out that Vegeta had left the Earth, she'd been in a bit of a slump. She couldn't understand why Vegeta had decided to leave without telling her. It was funny to her. The stupid male spoke about how they were life partners but he didn't think she deserved to know about his plans. You'd think that leaving the planet would be a big enough deal that you could let your wife (so to speak) know but apparently, she was wrong.

A few days later, she had snapped out of her pity party and decided to carry on with her life. Bulma was determined to not let Vegeta ruin her pregnancy. This was her first baby, she was supposed to be excited for goodness' sake! And she was.

Once she got back into the game, Bulma and her mother had bought numerous baby and home improvement magazines so she could pick what she liked and didn't like for the nursery. She wanted her baby to have the best nursery she could manage to give them. Other times she was in the lab working on projects that her father had deemed 'safe' for her to do. And so, to avoid being coddled like a child, Bulma decided to work on company matters that had been screaming for her attention. The constant activity was doing wonders at keeping her busy.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about her surly Prince.

At first she'd been upset that Vegeta had gone, and rightfully so. Though, as time went on, that sadness had begun to turn into anger the more she started thinking about his reasons for leaving. The arrogant bastard had probably thought that if he told her, she would've turned into a sobbing wreck at his feet, desperately begging and pleading with him not to leave her as if she was some sort of silly teenager. Eventually her rage had reached its peak and she sent him that recorded message expressing her thoughts and feelings. When she was done, she had felt so much lighter, as if she had lifted a weight off of her chest.

And thus, the wait began.

Perhaps it had been foolish of her to do so but she had waited for Vegeta to send her that signal. Bulma didn't think she was asking a lot, all she wanted was a sign that he was still _alive._ She had held a tiny hope that he would respond, even if it was a written message that said: _"Leave me alone, you foolish woman!" _It would've been much better than radio silence.

She should've known better than to get her hopes up, not even a little bit.

As the months passed, doubts had started creeping up on her like a demon in the night. At first, Bulma thought that her message was taking a bit of time to reach him. After all, he was lights years away from the Earth, she just didn't know how far since he'd somehow managed to disable the tracker a few days after he left.

Towards the end of her second trimester, she began to worry about him. All sorts of unwanted thoughts started racing through her head.

_Is he okay?_

_Did he run into someone even stronger than Frieza and get himself hurt?_

_Had he managed to do what she'd always feared he would do and get himself killed while trying to achieve Super Saiyan?_

That all changed when at six months pregnant, Bulma had woken up one day and came to the conclusion that nothing bad had happened to the Prince of Jackasses. In fact, she couldn't explain it but she just _knew _he was alive. She could feel something inside her burning with life. He was perfectly fine wherever he was. And he had purposely done nothing to notify her that he was okay. The thought of him doing that had hurt worse than if he had turned out to be dead because it just meant that he simply _didn't_ _care._

After that, she had pushed Vegeta out of her mind and dedicated all of her focus towards her baby. She wasted enough time and energy worrying and stressing about that prick.

There was one thing that came out of that bleak situation.

For half a year, Bulma and her mother had spent a lot more time together than ever before. They would go to different baby stores to coo and preen and squeal at all the various items they found and, of course, impulsively bought. Bunny would also accompany her to her doctor's appointments for her checkups and ultrasounds. She couldn't be more grateful towards her mother and her unwavering support. At one such appointment, Bulma had an ultrasound done on her and it was revealed that she was having a boy. The young genius had tears in her eyes when the doctor had her listen to the steady pitter-patter of her baby's heartbeat with her mother holding her hand the whole time. It had been a magical day.

Ever since then, they had ordered all kinds of plush toys, baby clothes and everything they needed to make sure that her unborn son had the most comfortable life that she could give him. Bulma had insisted in helping to decorate her son's room while she could still stand for long periods of time. Once the painters had finished, with special attention being paid to the ceiling, she and her mother had gone to town organising the room into a wonderland fit for a little prince.

And so they stood, present day, in the room after making the final touches and took a step back to marvel at their work. The room was complete and was utterly perfect.

"Mom, you're an absolute miracle worker! This place looks fantastic!" Bulma exclaimed with a brilliant smile directed at Bunny. The older woman was barely prepared when her daughter flew into her arms and hugged as tight as she could with her bump in between them.

Bunny giggled before wrapping her arms around her daughter and squeezed her back.

"Don't be silly Bulma. We did this together and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. It's such a charming room fit for a charming little prince!"

The endearing woman slightly pulled back and held Bulma by her shoulders, smiling at her all the while. "This little baby will have the most wonderful life filled with so much love and joy, especially when he has you and Vegeta as his parents."

Bulma's face lost a little bit of it's glow after hearing _his_ name. She averted her gaze to look at the wall as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Not liking the blank look on her daughter's face, Bunny moved her hands to cup Bulma's face, getting her attention again with the simple gesture.

"Now, don't look so glum darling. I know you're still upset at Vegeta but try not to worry about it too much. He's going to come back stronger than ever and when he's beaten those nasty androids, he'll come straight back to you and your son. Don't give up hope, okay?"

"Okay." Bulma nodded with a tiny smile on her face. Bunny smiled warmly at her and kissed her tenderly on her forehead.

"Well, I think it's about time we relaxed and had a snack. I'll be right back."

The heiress watched her mother walk gracefully out the door, gently humming a familiar tune. She couldn't help but chuckle under her breath when she thought of her mother's words to her. Apart from Goku, her mom was one of the most innocent, pure hearted people she had ever known with a heart of gold who always looked on the bright side of things. It was a refreshing thing to be around considering the world they lived in.

'_And I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.' _She thought to herself with a small smile.

Bulma sat in a rocking chair that faced the gardens outside and let the slow, gentle sway of the chair relax her. She leaned her head back, closed her eyes and with a sigh of contentment escaping her lips, placed her hands on her bump. Bulma rubbed her belly and smiled softly at the responding kick she felt. Her eyes opened and fell upon the golden sunset, the sky painted soft pink and purple. The view was, in a word, breathtaking.

'_I can't wait for the day I can hold you in my arms, Trunks. Then you and I can watch sunsets just like this one together. Doesn't that sound wonderful?' _She looked down at her bump with a loving smile on her face, already imagining the days to come.

"I'm back, honey. I usually wouldn't encourage this before dinner but I figured you deserved it after today." The heiress turned her head and saw Bunny walking in carrying a big glass of strawberry milkshake that was sat on a saucer. Her eyes widened at the sight, her mouth watering slightly with anticipation for the cold, sweet drink. As soon as she got her hands on it, she took a sip and moaned with delight at the taste.

'_I swear, Mom always makes the best milkshakes on the planet.'_

"Thanks Mom. You're the greatest. I didn't even know I needed this." She took another sip and closed her eyes. Could the day get any better?

The older woman smiled at the compliment and waved her dainty hand.

"Before I forget, there's someone here to see you sweety."

Bulma looked up with raised eyebrows. "Who is it?"

Bunny turned slightly towards the door. "You can come in now!"

The heiress felt her eyes bulge slightly when none other than Yamcha walked into the room, his eyes roaming over the entire space with mild surprise evident on his face. She stood up to greet him and had to bite her lip to keep from laughing when his gaze settled on her midsection.

"Yamcha, if you keep doing that your eyes are going to fall out of their sockets."

The former bandit snapped his head up at her little quip and rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous smile on his face.

"Yeah well, I wasn't exactly expecting to see you looking so...pregnant. It suits you."

Bulma shook her head at him with a smile on her face. Even after all these years, he was still so jittery around her. It was endearing, really. At some point, Mrs. Briefs had quietly exited the room so she could give them some privacy.

In all honesty, Bulma was very happy to see Yamcha again. Surprised, sure but definitely happy. She hadn't been certain if he was going to see him again, not since his fight with Vegeta.

The heiress shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts and brought her attention back to her former beau.

"So, how have you been?"

"I've been doing good. How about you?" He directed his gaze to the wall.

"Good, good." Bulma could've cut the air between them with a steak knife. That's how bad the tension was. They were quiet for a few seconds before she broke the awkward silence between them.

"Kami, you'd think we were complete strangers seeing each other for the first time. Even when we first met, things weren't this weird between us." Yamcha nodded his agreement at that.

"But I guess that's my fault." The former bandit opened his mouth to respond when Bulma held up a hand to stop him.

"Look, before you say what you came here to say, I just want to apologise for what happened. I never got the chance that day when you left and I was too afraid to look for you because you were just so angry and hurt and rightfully so. I broke your trust in the worst possible way and tried to waltz around the truth, not for your benefit like I'd convinced myself, but for mine.

I can't tell you the amount of times I thought about hopping into a plane and searching for you but I was too afraid that my presence would break whatever was left of our friendship. I just want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that I am truly sorry and I hope you can forgive me." Her eyes fluttered as she tried to keep her tears at bay. Yamcha saw this and stepped forward to embrace her. He was never able to stay mad at her for long.

"It's okay, Bulma. That's actually why I came here today. I was hoping to clear the air between us. I admit I was really pissed off after I found out what happened with you and Vegeta but over time I started to get over it. I realised that you were right when you said that we were trying to delay the inevitable, it was really a matter of time until we broke it off for good. So as much as I hate the way things ended between us, I'm kinda glad we broke it off because now, we can focus on strengthening our friendship."

He rubbed his hand in comforting circles on her back while she cried silently against his chest. "No matter what, you'll always be my best friend B. Okay?"

The young genius nodded her agreement, her face still hidden in Yamcha's chest as she let her guilt make its way out of her body. There were no words to describe how happy she felt at the fact that Yamcha had forgiven her before she even had to ask, no matter how much she felt she didn't deserve it. She made a promise to herself right then that she would never take advantage of him again.

They held onto each other for a moment longer before Bulma pulled away, wiping her face with her hands. She looked up at his kind brown eyes and gave him a small but sincere smile.

"Thank you Yamcha. I'm really glad to have you back. I mean that."

"Me too, Bulma." He smiled at the happiness in her expressive face. He had missed her as well and was glad he made himself come and see her. It had ended better than he had expected it to.

He looked around the room once again and directed his gaze back to her, questions visible in his eyes.

"So, you and Vegeta are having a baby, huh? Let's hope he turns out more like you than him." He joked...partially. If he was being honest with himself, he was a little disappointed that this wasn't his baby Bulma was carrying. But that was why he was here right? So they could start on a clean slate, as friends and only friends._"_

"You and me both." She answered with a dry smile. Bulma looked to her left, gazing at the tiny trinkets laying around her son's room.

If he hadn't been paying attention, he probably would've missed it. Yamcha saw a circular scar on the spot between her shoulder and her neck. It was smooth and blended in with her pale skin.

"Bulma, how in the world did you get that scar on your neck?"

She winced at the question, not really looking forward to telling him about the events of the past year.

"It's...a really long story. One I'll tell you about later. For now, why don't you stay and join us for dinner? We can catch up a bit more about how your training in the desert went."

"Hell yeah!" Yamcha readily agreed with his signature goofy smile on his face. He would be crazy to turn down Mrs. Briefs cooking. Hell, anyone would be crazy to turn down her cooking. That lady was a magician in the kitchen.

They made their way out of the nursery and slowly walked downstairs, joking and laughing the whole way there, just like old times.

That evening, the dinner table at Capsule Corp. was filled with laughter, joy and camaraderie. It had been too long since they had all experienced an evening like this and they were taking full advantage of it.

Bulma couldn't have asked for a better end to a perfect day.

* * *

**_Author's Note:_** What a wonderful day for the entire Briefs family! We just turned up the fluff meter by 100 here and I LOVED it :D!

I hope you guys liked this chapter. It was easily one of my favourites because of the positive emotions everyone experienced in the fic. We needed a bit of happiness to cheer Bulma up. As always, a big thank you to Becky L. Sly and earlschibiangel for their reviews. You guys motivate me to keep going and deliver my best.

Stay safe, happy and healthy everyone. Until next time my dudes. Peace, love and pixie dust, RR18


	15. Heir To The Throne

**_Chapter 15_**

_2 Months later…_

"Oh my Kami, how much longer are you planning on staying in there?" Bulma spoke in a teasing manner to the large bump on her abdomen, patting it gently with a soft smile on her face.

"I don't really get why you're surprised Bulma. When you think about who his father is, it's no big shock he intends to take his own time making his way into the world." Yamcha joked with a grin on his face, which he tried to swallow when she sent him a small glare.

For the past two months, Yamcha had been coming by occasionally to visit Bulma and her parents. Ever since that day they had buried the hatchet, it had been smooth sailing between them. Whenever he wasn't around, he was in the desert training as hard as he could. He'd made a tremendous leap in his training and was significantly stronger than when Frieza had arrived on Earth. Bulma was extremely proud of him and his achievements, though she always felt a smidgeon of guilt when she thought about the driving force of his training. His anger towards her and Vegeta had played a huge role in his quest to become stronger. It was a bittersweet moment. Their friendship had been restored and now that they were no longer romantically involved, it was stronger than ever before.

Right now, they were sitting on the balcony in Capsule Corp, soaking in the warm afternoon sun. It was a beautiful day and they were taking full advantage of it.

But…

For a few hours, Bulma had been feeling slightly uncomfortable with the occasional cramp on her lower back. In the beginning she didn't think too much of it since for the past couple of days, she'd experienced a good number of false alarms. Eventually she'd just stopped paying attention to them and as she had expected, they'd gone away as soon as they came. Today, however, they were more persistent and they were a bit more intense than usual. Still, she was taking them all in stride.

The heiress narrowed her eyes with mock animosity at the bandit and pointed her finger at him, "Yeah yeah, yuck it up while you still can. I bet that in three years, you won't have the same bravado when Trunks is busy kicking your ass." Bulma giggled at the mental image of her baby boy raising his pudgy little fists at Yamcha, challenging him to a tiny sparring match. It would be the cutest thing she'd ever witness, she just knew it.

Yamcha shook his head at her, a small chuckle escaping him at that comment. He wasn't planning on arguing that point because it might just be the truth. That kid would be a real force to be reckoned with. With Vegeta as his father, there wasn't a chance in hell that he would end up the same way Gohan was when he first met him all those years ago. He fell silent, thinking back to when the saiyans had first made themselves known to the group.

'_Has it really been that long since Goku's brother came to the Earth? That long since we trained for the arrival of Vegeta and his partner? That long since some of us had died and then were brought back to life?'_

"Yo, Earth to Yamcha? Hello?" Bulma waved her hand in front of Yamcha's face, snapping him out of his reviere. He'd been quiet for a while and could tell he was spaced out, which wasn't unusual for him. It was the look on his face that caught her attention. He looked almost...nostalgic. But it was more of a melancholic type of nostalgia. It worried her a little bit.

"Sorry Bulma, I was just thinking about something. A lot of things actually." He looked over at her with a small frown on his face. "Can you believe how fast time has passed since Goku's brother came to Earth and how much has gone down since then? It feels like just yesterday since we were training to save the world from Vegeta and his lackey."

Bulma laid her head on her hand, a faraway look in her eyes as she thought back to those times.

"Well, now that you mention it...gosh it really doesn't feel like we went to Namek to search for the dragon balls all that long ago. And then Frieza showed up two years ago looking for Goku. Plus that mysterious kid came from the future to tell us that a couple of killer androids are on their way."

"Mm-hm. But there's something that's been bothering me for a while now." He looked at her with an uneasy expression. "I can't help but wonder...what if Goku doesn't recover from the virus? What if he ends up dying just like that kid said?" Yamcha raised his hand to stop Bulma from arguing.

"Come on, let's be real for a second. You know Goku as well as I do. He hates relying on anything to better himself or his condition and we all know that doesn't fall on training alone. He may just decide to not take that medicine if he doesn't feel like he's getting sick."

She had to admit that he made a solid point. That damn Goku was just as prideful as Vegeta, always thinking of something that's meant to help him as some sort of crutch. It was an admirable quality as much as it was infuriating.

"Kami, it actually bugs me how right you are about that." Bulma chewed on her thumb as her mind wandered for a second before shaking those thoughts away.

"But I don't think it'll come to that. Even if it does, everyone's been training to their limit and even further. I'm confident that we can overcome this and prevent our future from going in the same direction as that kid's. We will win this and it'll all be over, Yamcha."

"Yeah but that's the thing." The desert bandit turned to face Bulma fully, his face unusually serious. "What if it doesn't end there? For the past five or so years, it's been fight after fight. The saiyans, Frieza and his goons, Garlic Jr, Frieza _again _and now in about a year's time, the androids. What if after this, someone even worse than the androids comes along? We won't come out the winning side forever."

Bulma reached across the table and held onto his hands, her face marred with anxiety. "Yamcha, come on, don't talk like that."

"I'm just saying, one day it might not matter how much we train, it may not be enough to help us. It's worth considering, don't you think?"

"Yes, but that's for another day. Our main priority right now is defeating the androids. That's more than enough for now. Look Yamcha, our future has already changed thanks to that young boy. I refuse to believe that he came here for nought. We can get through this and all live to tell the tale. Once that's over then we can worry about the future." She squeezed his hands and gave him a bright smile.

"For now, let's not waste this gorgeous day with matters that aren't in our control. We can worry about it when the time comes. Okay?"

"Okay." He gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry I got all heavy there for a minute. It was just some things that I'd been wondering about lately."

"Eh, don't sweat it. It's alright."

They carried on talking for a while before deciding to go back into the compound. Bulma began to get up but a painful contraction hit her and she hissed in pain. She grabbed onto the edge of the table and waited for it to pass.

"Hey, you alright B?" Yamcha walked around slowly towards her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She breathed out, panting through the pain. "This has been happening for a few days, it's nothing new." Bulma let out a sigh of relief when it passed and stood at her full height.

_POP!_

The heiress stood still for a second before slowly looking down. Her eyes widened when she saw the small puddle around her slipper-clad feet.

"Uh...oh.."

"What's the prob..oh sick!" The martial artist quickly stepped back when he saw the puddle around Bulma's feet. "Couldn't you hold it until we got inside?!"

Bulma looked up sharply at the clueless man in front of her and growled her indignation at his assumption.

"You idiot! I didn't pee on myself, my water broke! I'm about to give birth!"

"What?! Are you sure?!" He asked, his face wrought with panic.

"Yes, I'm sure!" She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. "Look, all this shouting isn't helping me right now. Help me to the infirmary, we'll take it from there."

"Okay." Before she could say anything, Yamcha lifted her into his arms and quickly made his way to the medical wing, passing Mrs Briefs on the way there.

"Hey Mom, my water broke! Call the doctor!" Bulma speedily told her mother before she was out of sight. Once they got infirmary, he gently placed her onto one of the beds.

"Hopefully Mom heard me when I spoke at the speed of sound and called the doctor. She's probably so excited that she's a nervous ball of energy right now." Bulma giggled at the thought and placed her hand on her abdomen.

"Well, looks like you answered my question from earlier. Today's the day we get to meet you after all."

Yamcha looked at Bulma speaking to her bump in silence, a little smile on his face. It was good to see her looking so happy to meet her son, even if the man who gave him to her wasn't here to witness the birth.

'_Not that it matters either way. If he was here, he probably would've cooped himself in the gravity room anyway.'_

Some time later, Bunny and Dr Briefs entered the room with Dr Himiko close behind them.

"Oh how wonderful! My baby is about to have a baby of her own! This is so exciting!" Bunny rushed to Bulma's side and fussed over her, rearranging her pillows to make sure she was as comfortable as possible.

"Mom, I'm okay. Stop fussing." Bulma smiled at her mother's antics. Honestly the woman looked more nervous than her.

"How are you feeling, dear?" Her father came up to her, Kitty sitting on his shoulder.

"I'm kinda nervous but mainly, really anxious to meet my son." Bulma wrung her hands on her lap, trying to get them to stop shaking.

"It's perfectly normal to feel nervous, Miss Briefs. I wouldn't worry too much though. I brought my finest team along with me. This might sound a bit cliche but rest assured, you're in good hands." She smiled warmly at Bulma, putting her at ease. "Alright, let's get you ready."

About six hours later, Bulma was lying on the bed after getting the epidural, writhing in pain at the lengthy contractions. It was near unbearable! How did some women do this four times?! Voluntarily!

Dr Himiko checked her once again to gauge how far she was. "Okay Bulma, you're fully dilated. Get ready to start pushing."

Bunny stood at her side, holding her hand the whole time. Bulma felt the next contraption come along and, upon the doctor's instruction, pushed as hard as she could. Ten minutes later, Bulma was sweaty, sore and utterly exhausted. Her mother was stroking her head, whispering sweet words of encouragement.

"Alright Bulma, you're almost there. Just one more push! Give it all you've got!" The good doctor encouraged her heartily.

"Ahhhhh!" Bulma yelled with all her might, using up the last of her strength. She felt an immense pressure and then….

Relief.

"Thank sweet merciful Kami that's over." She fell back onto her pillow, panting heavily for breath. The heiress felt tears prick at her eyes when she heard the sweetest sound in the whole world. The cries of her newborn baby.

"Congratulations Bulma. You've got a beautiful baby boy, tail and all." Dr Himiko smiled in adoration. The Briefs had already informed her about the odd nature of her baby and she had sworn her confidentiality. Only she and her team that was currently with her knew the truth. She handed the newborn to his exhausted mother, who held her arms out eagerly.

"Hi there baby. Mommy's so happy to meet you." Tears of joy were streaming down Bulma's face. She was convinced that there wasn't a more perfect baby than the one she held in her arms at that moment. By then, Yamcha and her father had already made their way into the room and were all gazing at the newest addition to the family with wonder in their eyes.

"Do you have a name for him darling?" Bunny asked her daughter.

"Yeah I do." She smiled down at her son, love and elation shining brightly from her sapphire eyes. "His name is Trunks." Her smile brightened even further when Trunks opened his strikingly identical eyes and looked up at her. His little tail swayed for a moment before wrapping itself around her pinky finger.

"Oh that is so precious." Bunny cooed at the heartwarming sight, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.

"It is indeed." Dr Briefs agreed with his wife, his eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Congratulations, Bulma. He's perfect, just like his mom." Yamcha said to her, a big grin on his face. Although, he couldn't help but feel a small hint of sadness at the sight. Once upon a time, he had wanted the same thing for Bulma and himself: A family of their own. And now, she had a baby with a man who didn't realise how lucky he was to have what he did. He didn't like it but he'd learn to accept it.

Little did he know, Bulma was having similar thoughts. She couldn't help but feel slight resentment towards Vegeta for not being present for the birth of his son, _their son. _She knew that he was aware she was pregnant, he just didn't give a damn. Loathe as she was to admit it, even to herself, it hurt. It really did.

'_It doesn't matter anymore. Trunks is here and that's all that matters.'_

* * *

The months passed and Bulma was more busy than ever before. In the beginning she'd been spazzed out of her mind. Her son was a bit of a handful. It had been an absolute mission trying to work out a feeding schedule for him. He ate a lot more than the average baby so she had stopped breastfeeding a few days after he was born. She'd started feeding him from the bottle and was surprised when he finished three bottles of formula per day. Bulma shouldn't have been shocked though, considering who his father was. By now, she had worked out a feeding plan and now everyone was happy.

Something else she was thankful for was his sleeping patterns. Trunks usually slept through the whole night, though at times she had her fair share of waking up at two or three in the morning when he let the whole compound know he was awake and needed her. Her mother, bless her soul, had been a tremendous help with him. Sometimes when Bulma went to his nursery to check on him, her mother would be there already tending to him. She took her role as grandma very seriously and Bulma was all the more grateful to have a mother like hers.

And now, at almost a year old, Trunks was a little force to be reckoned with. He was quite intelligent for his age.

'_Obviously he's a little genius. I am his mother after all.' _Bulma thought to herself. He was also quite strong for his age, already trying his best to learn how to walk. It was the most precious thing in the world to watch. Anybody with a working pair of eyes could see that he was the mirror image of his father, especially when he scowled at anybody who didn't give him what he wanted.

"Alright Bulma, I'm going to head out now. We have a big day tomorrow." Yamcha informed her, his face looking slightly grim.

Tomorrow was May 12th, the day the androids were due to arrive. Yamcha had come by after finishing off his training and had decided to hang around for a while. She could tell that he was nervous about tomorrow's fight. Honestly, she was sure everyone was on the edge now, herself included. It was a fight for their lives. Again.

"Before I leave, I need you to promise me you won't be anywhere near the fight tomorrow. Usually nobody minds if you spectate from a distance but now, it's too dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt."

Bulma smiled softly at the concern shining in his dark eyes. "You don't have to worry about me Yamcha. I won't be in the way, I promise. Besides, I'm the technological genius of the group. Dr Gero may be a genius but he's not perfect. I could help you guys by finding a weak point in their design."

The bandit merely sighed at her reasoning, knowing it was no use trying to dissuade her any more. Once she made up her mind, it was impossible to try and change it. Plus, he knew the real reason she wanted to go tomorrow. It had to do with a certain Saiyan Prince, although she'd bite his head off if he voiced his opinion.

"Alright, whatever you say Bulma." He walked to the door with Bulma in tow. He turned around to face her once more.

"I'll check you later, B." He waved at her and flew off into the distance to his home. As he flew, a sense of foreboding came over him, making him feel slightly nauseous.

'_I really hope we can make it through this tomorrow. We just have to.'_

* * *

Later that evening, Bulma was warming up a bottle for Trunks in the kitchen. Her parents had retired to their rooms earlier so it was just her and her son, who was resting on her hip impatiently waiting for his bottle.

"I swear, you're as bad as your daddy when it comes to food, Trunks." She said to him, laughing at the answering scowl he sent her. When it was done, she retrieved it and made her way to Trunks' room. Halfway there, she felt a slight tremor run through the building. She frowned when the force of the tremor increased gradually before suddenly…

_BOOM!_

Bulma steadied herself against the wall when the compound shook at the sudden violent shake. And just as quickly as it came, it passed.

'_That was no earthquake…'_

Her heart started racing when she thought about the true cause of that tremor. Could it be….

Trunks' cries broke her out of her stupor and she quickly made her way to his room. "There, there. It's alright sweety." She walked around his room, rubbing his back with comforting circles, trying to calm him down.

"Honey, is everything alright?" Bulma turned at the sound of her mother's voice.

" Yeah, everything's fine mom. Don't worry about it. You can go back to sleep." When Bunny left, Bulma sat on the rocking chair and swayed back and forth in a relaxing manner. Trunks' cries turned into small hiccups. When he had calmed enough, she brought the bottle to his mouth and held it for him as he drank his fill.

"Quite the noisy little brat, isn't he?"

The heiress ceased her movement at the sound of that rich baritone. Had it been anyone else, she would've chewed them out for calling her son a brat.

But this wasn't just anyone.

Bulma stood up and turned to face the source of the voice.

There, leaning against the doorframe, dressed in torn armour and wearing his infuriating, trademark smirk was none other than the Saiyan Prince himself.

"Did you miss me, Woman?"

_Vegeta._

* * *

**_Author's Note: _**Wow, quite a bit happened here, didn't? It was an eventful chapter, that's for sure. Needless to say, It was a real fun chapter to write.

As always, a huge thank you to RoyalBlueRoses and Becky L. Sly for your reviews on the last chapter. Don't forget to check out their fics,_ Gemini Saga_ and _What If: Namek_ respectively. They're worth it, I guarantee it.

Stay safe, healthy and happy everyone. Try to smile as much as you can, especially in these dreary times. Please R and R. Peace, love and pixie dust to you all. Until next time my dudes! RR18


	16. The Final Night

_**Chapter 16**_

"Did you miss me, Woman?" Vegeta looked at the woman standing before him, smirking at the shock on her face at his presence. While she's standing still, he takes the time to look her over. He notices that her hips are fuller than before, as well as her chest. Changes that he approves of greatly, if the stirring of his desire is anything to go by. Her hair no longer falls to the small of her back but rather brushes the top of her shoulders. The biggest change, however, would be the bundle in her arms. In them, rests the sole heir to the non-existent throne of the Saiyan race.

Meanwhile, Bulma is making her own assessment of the man leaning against the doorframe. Just by looking, she can tell that he's immensely different than the time he left all those months ago. Her eyes roamed over his form slowly, taking in his physique. He gained more muscle but somehow still looked lithe. He looked...taller than before, but not by much. There was something else about him that she couldn't pick up with her eyes.

Bulma couldn't sense power levels in the slightest but...she could _feel_ his strength from where she stood. He's always had a commanding aura about him but this time it was different. His power radiated around him, forcing you to acknowledge his presence. That must mean…

'_He's a Super Saiyan.'_

The Prince stepped into the room, neither of them saying a word as he makes his way to the child she's holding. Once his gaze lands on the baby, an involuntary sneer makes its way onto his face as he takes in his son's features.

"He's got purple hair. And blue eyes."

Trunks looked up at the unfamiliar voice and when he saw the surly expression directed at him, he whimpered a little bit before bursting into tears, wailing at the top of his little lungs.

"Lose the sour face, Vegeta. You're scaring him." Bulma turned her back on him as she tried to calm her baby down. "It's alright, there's no need to be afraid of him, sweety. That big lummox is your daddy. He may look scary but he's all bark and no bite." Vegeta scowled at that last statement. She may have said it to the child but it was clearly directed at him, leaving him feeling a bit irked at her attitude.

The heiress rocked him gently and rubbed his back, her soothing embrace managing to quiet her son more and more. When she looked down at him, she couldn't help but give a small laugh at the adorable sight. Trunks was out like a light, his arms curled upwards with one of his little fists against his mouth. Bulma placed a feather-light kiss on his forehead and laid him in his crib, pulling the blanket to his chest. She smiled down at him, her heart filled with adoration for her little prince.

"You coddle him too much, Woman. If you keep doing that, he'll turn out the same way Kakarot's whelp was when I first encountered him."

Bulma closed her eyes and grit her teeth, trying to keep her temper in check. She wasn't going to wake up her son just because his father was acting like a gigantic jackass. She took a deep breath and turned to face Vegeta, her expression blank.

"He's my son, I'll raise him in the way I see fit. Unless your Highness has a problem with that?" She raised her eyebrow at him, daring him to challenge her words.

The Prince narrowed his eyes at her at her calm words and easy posture. Of all the things he was expecting her to do or say when he returned, this blasé attitude certainly wasn't one of them. He had prepared himself for her fury when he returned, expecting her to throw the mother of all hissy fits. This cool response he got instead...it set him on edge. Before he could respond to her words, she beat him to the punch.

"Well, seeing as you're here now, I assume you need to spend the night before the battle with the androids tomorrow." She addressed him with an unreadable expression. "Your room is just as you left it. There's a few sets of armour in your closet and there are enough blankets and towels so you won't have to disturb me or my mother to get more for you." She gave him an impersonal smile. "Have a goodnight, Vegeta." She stepped around him and made her way to her room.

As Bulma walked down the hallway, she thought about her approach towards the arrogant prince. She had a sneaking suspicion he wanted her to have a meltdown and throw a tantrum worthy enough to rival that of a spoiled five year old. Unfortunately for him, she wasn't planning on giving him that satisfaction. Bulma reached the door to her room and stepped inside. She took her night clothes and went to the bathroom for a quick shower. When she was done, she donned her pyjamas and walked into her bedroom.

"Holy shit!" She shrieked at the dark figure standing by her window, until she heard a chuckle coming from it. A chuckle she'd recognise anywhere.

"Dammit Vegeta, don't scare me like that! I almost had a heart attack!" She crossed her arms and scowled at him. "What are you doing here, anyway? Is something wrong with your room?"

The Prince pushed himself off the window and stalked towards her, his gaze focused on her intently. He noticed her body tense slightly and smiled smugly.

"Yes, actually. There is something wrong with it." He stopped in front of her, so close that she could feel his body heat without him touching her. Vegeta leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear, "You're not in it."

Before she could snap at him for that, he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulled her roughly towards him and kissed her. Her mouth fell open in shock and he wasted no time deepening the sultry kiss. Bulma's eyes widened and it took a few seconds before her mind caught up with her body. The heiress tried to jerk out of his hold but his grip was unrelenting. So she does the only thing she can think of at that moment.

She bit his lip, _hard._

Vegeta groaned and immediately pulled his head back. He touched his lip and grimaced at the blood on his fingers. He turned his head and looked at her with rising anger in his eyes. "Woman, you dare to bite the Saiyan Prince?"

"You deserve more than me biting you, my _Prince_." She spat out like the title was cursed. "What the hell did you think you were doing?! You honestly think that you can leave for almost two years and then expect me to greet you with open arms and spread legs?!"

Bulma got closer to him and poked him in the chest with her finger, her voice deadly calm when she spoke. "Listen here, Vegeta. Maybe when you ran around in space, you were used to women falling at your feet with the snap of your fingers but here, with me, you'll be old and grey before you see me bend to anyone's rule, including yours."

The Prince swiped her hand off of his chest, growling at her impudence. She certainly became bolder since he left the Earth…

Of course. That's what this is about.

"Well, at least now I know why you've been acting so strange since I returned. You're in a bitter mood that I left without saying anything and now you're feeling resentful about it." Vegeta slowly shook his head at her, chuckling darkly when he sees the spark of anger in her eyes at his words. "And then you wondered why I deliberately didn't tell you of my departure. Is it really any surprise that I said nothing since I've been gone, Woman?"

So she'd been right. He did get her message and left her worrying about him on purpose. She'd already had a strong suspicion that he had seen it but he just confirmed it for her. Bulma's body shook as her anger kept on climbing with each passing second. She wasn't sure she'd be able to hold back from injuring him again.

Bulma took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves. "Well, since you've managed to figure it out on your own, you can get the hell out of my room. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

She turned around, listening for the shuffle of his feet, the swish of the door. Anything to tell her that he had left. What she heard next was not what she had been waiting for.

"Hmph. And here I thought the boy was the only child in the building. Turns out there's actually two of them."

The Prince wasn't ready for her to turn around so quickly and deliver a slap so strong, his head flew to the side with the force of it. He licked his lip clean of the fresh blood, his respect for the woman growing begrudgingly.

"How dare you?" Vegeta looked at her and was slightly taken aback by the venom shooting out of her eyes. If looks could kill, then he would've died a hundred times over by now.

He scowled heavily and gripped her upper arms tightly, not enough to hurt her but enough to convey his anger. "Bulma, you are really trying my patience", he snarled in her face. She laughed humorlessly and brushed his hands off of her.

"Yeah, well join the club buddy boy." She sneered at him, her sapphire eyes sparkling with indignation. "You wanna talk about trying someone's patience? Well, how about we start right from the top! First off, when I found out I was pregnant, I had so many questions that had no answers. You have no idea how many times I fought with myself from calling Chichi and asking her how her pregnancy went, just so I could have an idea what I was in for, but knew I couldn't. I was afraid of being judged harshly by my own friends, people that I knew would support me, no matter what! It was agonizing! If it wasn't for Yamcha, yes _Yamcha,_ then I would have been a lot more miserable. And if my mother hadn't been there for me till the very end then I don't know what I would've done.

The day I gave birth, it was the happiest day of my life. But at the same time, it was also one of the one of the worst because you weren't present for the birth of your own son! Imagine, my entire family was with me but I couldn't be completely happy because _you _weren't there. The cruel irony of it all, am I right? But do you want to know what's the icing on this shitty cake?"

Bulma grit her teeth as tears started forming in her eyes, but with her will alone, she managed to keep them at bay. "For months, I had no way of knowing if the ship was irreparably damaged and if you were stranded in the cold reaches of space. I was worried sick about you, not knowing whether you were still alive or if you had finally succeeded in killing yourself trying to reach your goal. I knew _nothing _about you because you gave me radio silence on purpose! All because of your suicide mission of trying to achieve Super Saiyan!"

Vegeta scoffed at the scent of her tears. "I didn't try, Woman. I succeeded! I managed to achieve the legendary on my 'suicide mission' as you say. I left so that I could get away from the distractions of this mudball planet. Something you don't seem to get!"

"Congratulations Prince of all One-and-a-Half Saiyans! But you see, you're wrong about one thing. I completely understand why you had to leave Earth! I'm not stupid Vegeta! I could see that nothing was working for you here. No matter what I did to help you, no matter how much you tried, you weren't getting to where you were supposed to be. If you had just told me your plans, I would've helped you get ready to blast off! Instead, you chose to assume that I was going to try and hinder you."

A couple of tears escape her eyes and she swipes at her cheeks roughly, hating how weak she appears with them running down her face.

"And now, almost two years later, you have the absolute nerve to stand in front of me and tell me that I'm being childish for worrying if you were injured or worse!"

The Prince growled in her face, feeling like his ears were close to bleeding with her shrill voice. "And just why the hell do you care if I live or not?!"

"Because I-!", she stopped herself from blurting out her emotions, not very keen on seeing the horrified look on his face at her confession, "Because last time I checked, I was your mate! You know, the Saiyan equivalent of a wife!"

Vegeta merely laughed in her face at her ridiculous statement. "Woman, just because you're my mate, it doesn't mean I'm obligated to tell you everything! Lest I end up in a position like I am right now, having to explain myself to you when I really shouldn't have to."

"You aren't listening to me, you insufferable man! Honestly, how damn big does your ego have to be for you to-" She was interrupted by the sounds of her son crying from the monitor. She let out a doleful sigh when she saw that the two-way function on the monitor was on. They'd woken up their son with their stupid fight.

The heiress took a deep breath and looked up at the man before her, noticing his angry stare was directed at the monitor. She shook her head at him, feeling exhausted. "Look, clearly this is going nowhere fast. Quite frankly, I don't think you even realise what this is about and I'm not about to lose sleep over it."

She walked towards the door and just before leaving, she turned her head to look at the Prince, her face a picture of calm. "Now, you have a choice. You can either stay here and we can talk this through when I come back. Or you can leave and we'll carry on as if nothing's wrong, which is clearly what you think is the case. It's up to you." With that, she made her way to her wailing baby.

By the time Bulma went back to her room, Vegeta was nowhere to be seen. The only sign he was ever there were her curtains flowing from the wind coming from her open sliding door. She let out a sorrowful breath and closed her door. She crawled under covers and attempted to sleep.

That night, her dreams were plauged with blood, screams, tears and destruction and ended with her surrounded by the bodies of her dead friends, holding the body of her Prince, wailing her sorrow to the blackened sky.

* * *

Bulma's eyes fluttered open and she groaned at the annoying shrill of her alarm clock. She hit the snooze button and got out of bed. She looked out the window, taking in the beautiful sunny day. "This doesn't really scream 'android apocalypse' does it?"

She merely shrugged her shoulders and went to check on her baby. While Bulma walked to his nursery, she thought back to the dream she had last night. It was disconcerting just thinking about how _real _it felt.

'_No, don't think like that. Goku and Vegeta are going to tear those androids apart and send the useless parts back to Gero. After that, we'll be able to carry on with our lives as normal. I just know it.'_

The heiress got to her son's room and smiled brightly when she saw him holding on to the bars of his crib, using them as support to stand on his own. He saw her and gave her a wide grin, babbling away at her in his baby lingo. She couldn't help but laugh at the sight. It was just too cute!

"Good morning sweety. Are you ready to meet Mommy's friends today?"

The little boy giggled his agreement and Bulma lifted him out of the crib, giving a peck on his chubby cheek.

"Come on honey, let's get you ready for you big day."

For the past three years, life had really taken an unexpected turn. Bulma had been thrown loop after loop, preserving old memories and making new ones. And now, they were about to fight for their lives once more. But she was confident that they'd make it out of this alive and they would all go straight back to living their normal, everyday lives.

Bulma looked down at her son and smiled softly at his innocent features.

_Just the way we were meant to._

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_And that's it ladies and gentlemen! We've reached the end of the fic! ***Blasts fireworks*. **This fic was so much fun to write and I loved every second of it. Fear not though, cause I will return with a new fic involving our favourite royal couple...as soon as I get an idea for one, haha.

I hope you all enjoyed this fic. I'd say, for a first attempt, it really came out alright. I wanna thank each and everyone of you for liking, following, commenting and supporting this fic. You all have my thanks from the bottom of my heart.

And so, for the last time, I wish peace, love and pixie dust to you all. Stay safe everyone and keep being awesome. See you soon! Until next time!

RR18 3


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